


and the flowers all grew, painting the field in technicolor

by fallingforboys



Series: watch the wilted flowers stand tall again as we dare to dream [5]
Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Corey Bryant & Theo Raeken Friendship, F/M, Fluff and Humor, Good Theo Raeken, M/M, McCall Pack, Puppy Pack (Teen Wolf), Stiles Stilinski is a Little Shit, Theo Raeken & Brett Talbot Friendship, Theo Raeken & Stiles Stilinski Friendship, Theo Raeken is Part of the Pack
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-21
Updated: 2021-01-31
Packaged: 2021-03-12 21:22:40
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 10
Words: 23,815
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28892073
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fallingforboys/pseuds/fallingforboys
Summary: A collection of fun, fluffy one-shots with the pack.
Relationships: Alec/Lori Talbot, Chris Argent/Melissa McCall, Cora Hale/Isaac Lahey, Corey Bryant/Mason Hewitt, Derek Hale/Stiles Stilinski, Jordan Parrish/Original Female Character(s), Liam Dunbar/Theo Raeken, Lydia Martin/Original Male Character(s), Nolan/Brett Talbot, Scott McCall/Malia Tate
Series: watch the wilted flowers stand tall again as we dare to dream [5]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2107209
Comments: 66
Kudos: 117





	1. Chapter 1

Theo was scared. 

He looked down at his phone again- maybe his eyes were just deceiving him, but nope, Stiles Stilinski was calling him. 

He warily picked up the phone and brought it up to his ear.

“Stiles?”

“Theo,” the human exclaimed. “I need help with something, can you come over?”

The chimera was even more scared now. “What something?”

“Just come over, I’ll tell you. Bye!”

Stiles hung up before Theo could even respond. The chimera stared at his phone for another minute before sighing. Might as well see what trouble the human managed to get himself into this time.

Ten minutes later, he was pulling his truck into the Stilinski’s driveway, and he could see Stiles looking through his bedroom window. The human mouthed that the door was open, and motioned for Theo to come in. 

“If you somehow managed to get pregnant, I’m gonna walk out right now,” Theo announced as he entered Stiles’s room. 

“What? _No_ ,” the human breathed out, annoyance dripping from his voice. “I need your help with matchmaking.”

Theo blinked. “Matchmaking?”

“ _Yes_ ,” Stiles continued, bouncing back onto his bed. His hands fidgeted with a pen as he looked up at the chimera. “Isaac and Cora. We need to get them together.”

Exasperation built up in Theo’s chest. “I thought you had an _actual_ problem, Stiles!”

“I do.” The human stared at him blankly as if Theo was being stupid. “Isaac and Cora’s sexual tension is literally choking me. I think I might actually die if I have to suffer through that for another second.” 

The chimera opened his mouth to interrupt, but Stiles didn’t let him. “Okay, look. I _know_ you’ve noticed it too, you and Brett _both_ did that first day. And you can’t tell me that it’s not frustrating to watch them together.”

Unfortunately, Stiles was right. Theo _had_ noticed the insane dance the two had been doing for the last couple of weeks and it _was_ driving him crazy.

He sighed. “Fine, I’ll help.”

Stiles jumped up, clapping his hands once. “Great! So what’s the plan?”

“I thought that was your job,” Theo remarked dryly, and Stiles rolled his eyes. 

“It’s _both_ of our jobs, we’re doing this _together_.”

“I don’t know,” Theo threw his hands up in frustration. “Why don’t we just lock them in a closet and call it a day?”

Stiles gave him a wry glance, but then his eyes widened as he considered it. “That’s not the… worst idea in the world,” he said slowly. “At the pack party tonight. We’ll do it then.”

“Does everyone else know you’ve suddenly chosen to try your hand at matchmaking?” Theo asked him. “And why me? Scott could’ve helped you with this.”

“Scott is the least romantic person I know, he would’ve messed it up,” Stiles responded, shuffling through the drawers in his desk hastily. 

“Stiles, we’re locking them in a _closet_ ,” the chimera said. “We’re not exactly the crown winners of being romantic.”

“I’ve seen you with Liam, you’re romantic. _No matter_ how much you try to deny it,” Stiles raised his voice as Theo started to cut him off. “I called you on purpos- Aha!”

The human raised his hand, revealing handcuffs. Theo raised his eyebrow in surprise. 

“Sorry to disappoint you, but I have a boyfriend who I love very much and you’re not exactly my type-”

“Oh _shut up_ ,” Stiles interjected, “We’re gonna use these on Isaac and Cora.”

Theo was beginning to seriously worry about what went on in Stiles’s head. “They’re both _werewolves_. They can break out of those in seconds.”

“Doesn’t matter,” Stiles chirped. “We only need a couple of seconds to shove them in.”

“This isn’t gonna work,” the chimera said, and punched the pillow Stiles threw at him. 

“Stop being a negative Nancy. You want them together, don’t you?” 

Theo rolled his eyes. “When Isaac breaks out of those, I’m blaming all of this on you.”

The pillow hit him this time. 

__________________________________

Theo was gonna kill Stiles. 

Instead of enjoying the pack party with his friends and boyfriend, he had been running around with Stiles for the last thirty minutes, who had enacted an elaborate plan to shove the two werewolves into the closet. 

“Stiles,” Theo hissed, grabbing the human’s arm to stop him from running away again. “I’m done.”

“You can’t be done, they’re not locked in yet,” Stiles declared, and the chimera took a deep breath to calm himself down.

“We have been running around in circles for the last _thirty minutes_. I think I know every corner of this house better than _Scott_.” 

“Look, everything’s set up,” the human said, yanking his arm from Theo’s grip. “All we have to do is handcuff them when they get near the door, and then push them in.”

Theo sighed. They made it this far, might as well keep going. “You’re the one handcuffing them. I’m not risking either of them punching my face.”

Stiles squawked. “What if _I_ get punched?”

“Then maybe it’ll finally sink in that you need to stop being nosy,” Theo quipped, before walking away, casually making his way to the closet. As per Stiles’ plan, Isaac and Cora were already standing near it with Derek and Scott. 

Theo joined them, standing directly to the left of Isaac, ready to push them the couple in once Stiles handcuffed them. He was listening to Scott talk about his grumpy history professor when he saw Stiles sneak behind Isaac and Cora from the corner of his eye. 

Two seconds later, the handcuffs snapped, and Isaac and Cora both jumped at the noise. 

“Wha-”

Theo shoved them into the door Stiles had opened, and they two werewolves yelped as they lost their balance and fell to the floor. 

Stiles slammed the door shut, locking it carefully and putting a chair under it to keep it closed. All of the commotion had drawn the attention of the entire pack, and the room was silent. 

“Stiles, what the _fuck_?” Isaac’s muted voice came from the other side of the door, and the human smirked. 

“I think you both know why you’re in there, Isaac,” he said with sparkling eyes. “Have fun!”

Loud knocks came from the closet, but Stiles ignored them, turning to the pack, who was still staring at him blankly. “Oh come on, you guys are tired of their tension too.”

Nolan raised his hand slowly. “My only question is why _Theo_ shoved them in.”

“He’s my partner in crime,” Stiles responded gleefully, throwing an arm over the chimera’s shoulder. “This was his idea.”

Two growls echoed from the closet, and Theo’s eyes widened. “No it wasn’t!” he rushed out. “This was all Stiles’s idea, _he’s_ the one that called _me_ to ask for help. Kill him, not me!” Theo directed at the door, pushing Stiles’s arm off of him. The human cried out as the force knocked him into the wall, and the chimera quickly moved away from the door. 

Liam made his way to his boyfriend, snuggling into his side. “Why didn’t you tell me?” he pouted and Theo sighed. 

“Because this _idiot_ ,” he said, pointing at Stiles, “wouldn’t let me. He said it was a ‘top-secret mission’ and even made me sign a whole damn contract.”

“ _Hey_ , if I didn’t make you sign that, you would’ve told Liam and Brett the second you left my house,” Stiles blurted out, and Theo snorted. That’s exactly what he would’ve done. 

“So you went behind my back to lock my _sister_ in a closet with someone?” Derek demanded, and Stiles blanched. 

“But it’s _Isaac_ ,” the human started backing away from his boyfriend. “You’re friends with Isaac. You like Isaac.”

Derek looked like he was gonna threaten him, when Scott suddenly motioned for everyone to be quiet. Theo looked at his glinting eyes and realized he was tilting his head towards the closet. 

“It’s been quiet for the last five minutes,” the alpha whispered, and Theo’s lips quirked up. He took the chair out as silently as possible, and quickly opened the door. 

Isaac and Cora were making out. The handcuffs lay on the ground next to them, broken and forgotten. 

Stiles cheered, jumping up and down. “It worked! My plan worked!”

The two werewolves pulled apart at the interruption, annoyed looks on their faces. They looked as if they were going to go back to what they were previously doing, but Scott reached in and hauled them out of the closet. 

“Congratulations,” Malia said dryly as the rest of the pack joined in Stiles’s cheering. “You’re officially the last couple in the pack to get together.”

Stiles threw both his arms around Isaac and Cora, momentarily forgetting that they were still pissed at him. “See, you guys should be _thanking_ me.”

Cora growled at the human, her fangs dropping, and Stiles staggered back quickly, raising his hands in surrender. But he ended up right next to Lydia, and his face lit up again. 

“Lydia, you’re nex-”

“If you try and set me up with _anyone_ , Stiles, you’re gonna _wish_ Cora killed you,” the banshee threatened with a smile on her face, and a chill ran down Theo’s spine at the sight. Lydia was fucking _scary_. 

Stiles gulped. “Got it.”


	2. Chapter 2

“I don’t think we ever heard the story of how you and Liam got together.”

Theo froze. 

The Puppy Pack, Scott, Melissa, and Argent all burst out laughing at Stiles’s question. 

“Wait, what _happened_?” Stiles questioned, as Theo buried his head in his hands. Liam groaned next to him, and the chimera desperately hoped that Argent wouldn’t pull out his phone. 

Argent pulled out his phone. 

“I have the video,” he said, eyes twinkling in amusement, “It was quite a sight.”

“Okay, now you _have_ to show us,” Lydia commented, and the older pack, save for Scott, formed a semi-circle around the former hunter. 

Theo heard Liam’s punch from the phone, and he winced at the sound. Lydia gasped as Stiles snickered. 

The video went on- Liam’s yelling, Theo trying to pretend he was clueless, and Liam shoving Theo into the wall. _That_ got a few whistles in the room, and Theo flushed. 

“I heard this theory from Lydia a while ago,” the chimera heard Liam say in the video. “Something about kissing helping with focus.”

Brett snorted, and Liam threw a pillow at the tall werewolf. The older members all looked up as the video ended with Theo and Liam making out. 

“Only Theo and Liam could go from punching someone in the nose to kissing in under ten seconds,” Isaac remarked, and Theo flipped him off. 

“I never told you about the kissing thing,” Lydia narrowed her eyes at Liam, and the werewolf paled. 

“Uh.. I may have overheard you… when you were talking to…” Liam trailed off as the banshee’s glare sharpened. “Never mind.”

That caught Theo’s attention. “Talking to who?”

“No one.”

Scott eyed the banshee skeptically. “We can tell you’re lying, Lydia.”

Lydia seemed to have a fight with herself in her head for a few moments, then slumped back into her seat. “Fine. I was talking to my lab partner. From MIT.”

Liam made a soft noise in his throat, and the packs’ heads all snapped at him. The werewolf was staring at the banshee, an eyebrow raised. Lydia growled quietly. 

“Did you listen to my _entire_ conversation?” Liam quickly threw his arms up in surrender at Lydia’s scowl, but the banshee eventually sighed. 

“He’s my boyfriend.”

The pack all froze. 

“That’s why you didn’t want me setting you up!” Stiles’s loud exclamation cut through the silence, and Lydia smacked his chest. 

“Why didn’t you tell us?” Scott asked, a little hurt in his voice. 

“Because I wanted to know him better before I brought him here,” Lydia responded, angling her head to look at the alpha. “We aren’t exactly the easiest group of people to get introduced to.”

Theo snorted at the severe understatement. “What is he?”

Lydia looked taken aback. “What?”

“Liam overheard you talking about something supernatural,” Theo explained, his eyebrow raised. “So, I’m assuming he’s part of it.”

Lydia flushed, and now Theo was taken aback. The banshee was usually completely in control of her emotions.

“He’s actually… human,” she began. As multiple pack members opened their mouths to ask questions, she glared, and everyone fell silent. Her expression faded into one of reminiscence. “The day after the semester started, there was this omega who tried to attack me. I’m _fine_ ,” she said, glaring at Scott as he tried to interrupt. “I used my scream, and everything was fine. But, apparently I hadn’t looked around, cause when I turned around, Ben was there, staring at me.”

Lydia smiled fondly. “His eyes looked like they would pop out of his head, but he managed to stammer out that he was my lab partner. After that, I _had_ to explain it to him- he looked like he was going to drop the class. But after two hours of listening to my explanation, he didn’t even look scared anymore.” 

The pack was all listening intently to her story, all of them leaning in unconsciously. 

“The only thing he said was ‘Imagine the excuses I could’ve used to not do my homework in middle school if I had a werewolf friend,’” the banshee finished, and Stiles laughed. 

“He’d fit in perfectly,” he said, his tone serious despite his happy expression, “You should bring him next time.”

“Now that you all know, I probably have to,” Lydia sighed out. “Ben’s been waiting to meet you guys for _weeks_.”

“Wait, how’d you explain the whole Theo situation?” Mason asked, his brows furrowed. “That couldn’t have been easy.”

“I didn’t,” Lydia stated bluntly. “Theo’s not like that anymore, so why waste an hour explaining it?”

Theo’s heart picked up at the banshee’s words. This felt like the ultimate forgiveness, and the chimera couldn’t find the words to put his feelings into words. 

Lydia seemed to understand what Theo was trying to say though, and she subtly nodded at him as Liam intertwined their hands together, squeezing gently. 

Theo squeezed back, suddenly immensely grateful for the second chance that he had gotten all those months ago. 

__________________________________

It wasn’t until two months later that the pack finally got to meet Ben.

“So you’re the alpha,” Ben said to Scott, his eyes bright with excitement. “And you’re the beta,” he said to Liam. Both of them couldn’t even get a word in before he was already turning away, trying to name who the rest of the pack was from his limited knowledge from Lydia. 

The pack just stood there silently as Ben made his way around, until Lydia finally grabbed onto his arm, pulling him to a stop. “Ben, calm down.”

The human stopped talking. “Oh right, sorry. I’m Ben,” and the pack all nodded in acknowledgement. 

Stiles made his way to the couple, throwing an arm around the human. “So, Ben, what are your intentions with our Lydia?”

Everyone burst out laughing as Ben gave Stiles a dry look. “You have a boyfriend, I’m sure you can figure that out yourself.”

Theo snorted at the sarcastic answer as the pack’s laughter grew in volume.

“You’ll fit right in buddy,” Stiles said, patting Ben’s shoulder. “Just stay away from Peter, and you’ll be fine.”

“Peter the evil werewolf who came back to life and is now a lonely bachelor who watches Riverdale in his free time?”

Ben’s innocent confusion caused the whole pack to crack up again, and Scott shook his head in amusement at Lydia. “Don’t let Peter find out that that’s how you described him.”

Ben rolled his eyes. “What is he gonna do? Bore us to death with the plot of Riverdale?”

“I like him. Let’s keep him,” Isaac called out, breathless from laughter. 

“I was planning to,” Lydia drawled, and wrapped an arm around Ben’s.

Theo threw an arm around Liam’s shoulder, pulling him closer. “Since you’re not single anymore, I think that’s the entire pack now. Except for Peter- but I have a feeling he’s gonna stay a bachelor.”

Derek barked out a laugh. “He tried flirting with the waitress at the Italian place we went to over the weekend. She stared at him for a minute and just walked away.”

The pack tittered. 

“Bottom line is,” Stiles repeated to Ben, “stay away from Peter, and you’ll be fine.”


	3. Chapter 3

“No.”

Liam pouted at Theo. “Please,” he stretched out the word, looking at him through the screen with wide eyes.

“Liam, no. I’m not changing my mind.” The chimera crossed his arms and looked away from his boyfriend- his puppy-dog eyes were hard to resist and Theo _really_ didn’t want to do this.

“Brett’s going,” the werewolf tried, as if that would convince Theo.

“Yes, because Brett is _actually_ a student. I,” the older boy pointedly looked at his boyfriend. “am not.”

Liam waved off his words. “Doesn’t matter. _Please,_ Theo, it’s a tradition, and you didn’t do it last year, so you _have_ to come.”

Theo sighed. Apparently Senior Scribe was a way bigger deal to Beacon Hills then he thought it was. Ever since Liam had found out that he never did it, he’s been begging Theo to join the seniors that were sneaking in to take part in the tradition they missed at the beginning of the year. “ _Fine_. Now can we please stop talking about this?”

The werewolf’s face lit up as he processed his answer and ignored his question. “Okay, we’re going tonight, so you can pick us all up at my house and then we’ll head to the school.”

Theo ran a hand down his face, and nodded. “Alec and Lori aren’t coming, right?”

“Obviously not,” Liam said, rolling his eyes. “It’s just gonna be the six of us.”

A crash echoed from downstairs, and Theo jumped at the loud sound. “Okay, I’ll see you tonight,” he said, walking towards the door of his room. “I love you.”

“I love you.” And the chimera hung up, rushing down the stairs to see what happened. The sight that met his eyes had him taking out his phone again, opening the camera.

Scott was in the kitchen, with a mixing bowl upside down on the counter, all of its contents splattered on the werewolf. Theo started laughing, as the alpha glared at him, trying to wipe away the food on his face.

“You could’ve just asked me for help, you know,” the chimera said, grinning as he sat down at the counter. 

“Malia would’ve known the second she ate the cake that you made it. She’s so obsessed with your desserts dude, it’s kinda scary. And besides,” Scott remarked, wiping his hands on a paper towel. “I wanted to make it by myself since it's our anniversary.”

“How romantic,” Theo quipped, and Scott threw the towel at him. “I have a feeling she won’t mind when she’s actually eating the cake.”

“Fine.”

Theo didn’t move and raised his eyebrow at the alpha, who rolled his eyes in frustration before turning to the chimera. 

“Theo, my dearest brother, would you be oh so fucking kind and use your baking skills to make a cake for my anniversary?” Scott drawled sarcastically, and Theo snickered. 

“I’m so glad I caught that on video,” he said, waving his phone in the air, and the alpha threw a spoon at his head. Theo dodged it, making his way to the other side of the counter. “I don’t think you should be throwing things at the one helping you fix the mess you made.”

“Whatever, you’d help me anyway,” Scott retorted, and the chimera started to get the ingredients he needed. “What are you doing tonight anyway? I know I kinda kicked you out, but I never asked where you were going.”

Theo rolled his eyes as he measured the flour. “Liam and the other seniors are sneaking into the school to make up for missing Senior Scribe and are forcing me to go because I never did it.”

“I completely forgot you never got to do that,” Scott said, leaning against the counter as he watched Theo do all the work. “I’m glad you’re doing it.”

Theo hummed, and turned his attention back to the cake. Scott would be no help whatsoever- it was up to him to make the perfect anniversary cake for the alpha and Malia. Three hours later, Theo stepped back from the fully decorated cake, proud of his work. 

“Holy shit, that looks a million times better than anything I could’ve pulled off,” Scott exclaimed as he came down the stairs. He had on a button-down shirt and jeans, checking his phone because Malia would be here any minute. Right on cue, the doorbell rang. 

The chimera stayed in the kitchen as Scott went to open the door, putting the final finishing touches on the cake. If he was gonna spend this much time making it, he was gonna make sure it was the best fucking thing Malia had seen. When he was finally happy with it, he pulled out his phone to take a couple of pictures.

The werecoyote’s jaw dropped when she entered the room, and Theo flushed when she immediately ran over and wrapped him up in a hug. 

“I was so scared Scott was gonna be the one to make it- I didn’t think you would. Thank you, thank you, thank you!” she blurted out, and Theo smirked at the alpha’s name. 

“He was. If I didn’t come down here when he dropped the whole batter on himself, you would’ve been stuck eating whatever shitshow he managed to make.”

“ _Hey_ ,” Scott complained, hitting the chimera lightly. “Now, go,” he said, shooing Theo out of the kitchen. “We have a date, and you can’t be here anymore.” 

Theo laughed as he stumbled out of the kitchen, quickly going up to change his clothes before driving over to Liam’s house. The werewolf greeted him with a kiss when he opened the door, and dragged him upstairs to his room. The rest of the older Puppy Pack was laying around lazily, playing a video game. 

“What took you so long?” Corey asked as Theo entered, and he shook his head fondly. 

“Scott’s cake exploded on him, and I had to make another one before Malia got there.” Brett snorted, before throwing a black hoodie over to the chimera. Theo looked at the werewolf with furrowed brows.

“We’re _sneaking_ in,” Brett emphasized. “And even though the school’s security is fucking horrible, I don’t wanna get caught.”

Theo rolled his eyes before pulling it over his head. “Let’s just get this over with.”

“You could at least try to be a _little_ enthusiastic,” Mason said, shaking his head at the chimera.

“I’m going back to _high_ _school_ ,” Theo retorted, walking down the stairs. “I don’t think _anyone_ would be enthusiastic in my position.”

“Shut up,” Liam said, smacking the chimera’s chest. Ten minutes later, Theo was pulling into the school parking lot, the rest of the Puppy Pack vibrating with excitement. 

“You brought a sharpie, right?” Theo asked the group, and they all froze. “You’re kidding.”

Liam broke into a grin. “Yeah. You really thought we’d forget the one thing we need for Senior Scribe?”

“I wouldn't put it past you guys,” the chimera drawled, and Brett shoved his shoulder. 

When they finally made it into the library, Liam pushed the hood off of his head and reached inside his pocket to grab the sharpie. He rushed over to the bookshelf and quickly uncapped the marker. 

“Jesus, Liam, slow down,” Nolan whispered, as the rest of the pack finally made it up to the bookshelf. The werewolf scribbled his initials and handed it over to Mason. The sharpie got passed around, until it finally reached Theo. He took it from Brett’s hand, and stepped up to the shelf. 

_MH. CB. NH. BT. LD._

All his friends’ initials were written down, forming a tight circle on the shelf. Theo hesitated, his hand stopping inches from the empty space next to Liam’s initials. A hand slipped into his left one, and he turned to find Liam looking at him quietly. 

“Go ahead, Theo,” the werewolf whispered. “You belong here, make sure everyone else knows it too.”

Theo’s heart soared at the words, and he quickly scrawled his initials. He took a small step back and felt a weight lift off of his shoulders. 

He belonged here, and no one could take that away from him. 

_MH. CB. NH. BT. LD. TR._


	4. Chapter 4

“Corey, you’re _insane_.”

The other chimera ignored Theo, continuing his journey through the aisles of the store. Brett and Theo exchanged a wary look and followed him. 

“Does Mason even remember this?” Brett asked, and Corey finally stopped and turned to him.

“ _Yes_ , obviously,” the chimera said, annoyed. “And even if he doesn’t, we get a nice date out of it. Now stop asking questions and _help me_.”

The chimera walked into another aisle, and the other two both sighed and went after him. Corey had called both of them that morning, saying he needed help and told them to meet him here. Apparently, exactly five months ago, Mason and Corey had made some sort of pact about promise rings for five months later. Now, Corey was going insane trying to set up a perfect date with the perfect promise ring, and he was dragging Theo and Brett along with him. 

“Okay, Corey, _stop_ ,” Theo said after another ten minutes of wandering around, pulling the other chimera to a stop. “We’re not getting anything done. Just _listen_ ,” he pressed when Corey started to interrupt. “You go find a promise ring, that’s the most important part, right? Me and Brett will figure out everything else. Just go get the ring.”

Corey hesitated, clearly wondering if the two boys could be trusted with setting _everything_ up. Brett rolled his eyes and lightly shoved the chimera. “ _Go_. We got this part. We’re the most romantic out of the whole pack anyway.”

Theo snorted and Corey broke out into a smile, looking a little less tense than before. “Okay, okay, I’ll go. Just promise me that you’ll make this perfect,” Corey said, shifting his gaze back and forth between the other two. 

“We _will_. Now, _go_ ,” Theo promised, pushing the chimera, and he walked away, setting off on his journey to find the perfect ring. 

When Corey was out of sight, Theo turned to Brett. “Ready to plan the perfect date?”

“Hell yeah.”

__________________________________

Three hours later, the diner that the pack frequented was completely transformed. Theo had explained the situation to the owners, and they agreed immediately. Apparently being regulars at a small place like this had its perks. 

Brett and Theo had pushed most of the tables to the edges of the room, leaving one in the center, with a perfect candlelit setup. They had also dimmed the diner lights, and it left the room basked in a soft, warm light. Brett had printed out a bunch of pictures of Mason and Corey and attached them to the poles in the diner, creating a walkway from the door to the table. 

The door suddenly opened, and Corey stepped in and froze. His jaw dropped at the sight, and Theo and Brett smirked. They were going for speechless.

“This place looks… _amazing_ ,” Corey blurted out, spinning around to take everything in. “And the _pictures_ , he’s gonna _love_ that. This… this is better than I could ever hope for.”

He stepped towards the two boys, who were grinning happily at the chimera’s joy. “ _Thank you_ ,” Corey said, rushing forward to wrap both of them in a hug. “You guys are the most romantic in the pack, I believe it now.”

Theo laughed, patting the chimera’s back. “You find the ring?”

Corey reached into his pocket, pulling out a ring, and Theo and Brett moved closer to look. The ring was simple- a silver band with a geometric pattern cut into it- and it was perfectly _Mason_. 

“He’s gonna love it,” Brett reassured the chimera, and Corey smiled weakly. 

“I don’t know how to get him here though,” and a wide smirk appeared on Theo’s face. 

“Leave that to me,” he said, pulling out his phone. He knew exactly how to get the human to the diner.

“Liam,” he rushed out as soon as his boyfriend answered, changing his voice to sound panicked, “Come to the diner, _now_. And bring the pack- there’s too many for me, Brett, and Corey to handle by ourselves.” The werewolf squawked when he heard that they were in danger, but Theo cut him off before he could say anything. “Just _hurry_.”

And then he hung up. He looked up to see Brett and Corey shaking their heads. “Why is being in trouble your go-to excuse?” the other chimera asked him disapprovingly. 

“Hey, it’s gonna get your boyfriend here, isn’t it?” Theo retorted, and five minutes later, he heard a car pull into the parking lot. They had pulled all the blinds down, so the pack couldn’t see what was going on inside. 

The door slammed open, revealing Liam fully transformed, ready to fight, but his brows furrowed at the sight that met his eyes. His gaze shifted from the pictures, to Corey dressed up, to Brett and Theo standing in the corner of the room, and his eyes widened in realization. His claws retracted and he made his way into the diner. 

“You couldn’t have used a better excuse?” Liam asked Theo, rolling his eyes. “I thought you were _actually_ in trouble.”

Before the chimera could respond, the door swung open again, this time revealing Mason holding a metal baseball bat, in position to swing. He yelled and ran into the diner only to skid to a stop. His arms slowly lowered, and the bat fell to the floor with a _clang_ as his eyes landed on the walkway of pictures. 

“Wha-” Mason faltered, his gaze moving to Corey, who was nervously smiling at him. “What’s happening?”

The human seemed to realize that Corey was waiting for him to come closer, so he slowly made his way to the table, stopping every couple of seconds to look at another picture. When he finally reached the chimera, Corey pulled out the ring. 

“Five months ago, we made a pact. And I don’t know if you even remember it, but… I never thought I could fall in love this fast or this hard, but I did,” Corey began, staring into Mason’s eyes. “I love you, Mason, and I wanna be with you. For the rest of my life.” The chimera held the promise ring out to the human. “We might be too young to get married, but you’re it for me. So, this is for you.”

Mason gaped at the chimera, his mouth opening and closing. He didn’t say anything for so long, Corey was beginning to look a little frightened. 

“Say something, dumbass,” Brett hissed, and that seemed to startle Mason out of his frozen state.

“Yes.” Mason shook his head, “I mean… you’re it for me too, Corey. And I love you. So much.” 

Corey’s face lit up and he slid the ring onto the human’s finger before tilting his head up and kissing him hard. The Puppy Pack all cheered loudly, and Alec and Lori, who had waited by the door when they saw what was happening, made their way to the rest of the pack. 

Mason pulled back, and grinned as he looked at the chimera. “I _do_ remember. There’s a promise ring sitting on my dresser,” his eyes shifted to Liam, who had a wide grin on his face as he watched his best friend. “I dragged Liam to the store the other day, and we came up with this whole plan. I was going to do it tomorrow.”

Corey’s eyes widened, and Theo and Brett both snickered. They were both sort of happy that they managed to do it before Mason though. 

Theo slung an arm around Liam’s shoulder, and pulled him close, taking comfort in his scent and touch. 

He can’t wait till Stiles finds out that all of this happened when he wasn’t in town. 


	5. Chapter 5

“I NEVER SAID THAT!”

“YES, YOU DID!”

“YOU’RE JUST MAKING SHIT UP SO I DON’T BRING UP HOW YOU DITCHED ME TWO WEEKS AGO!”

“I HAD TO MAKEUP A TEST!”

Theo sighed heavily, exchanging a frustrated look with Brett. Lori and Alec had been at it for almost half-an-hour, and the chimera was about to throw himself out of a window. 

The two ‘lovebirds’ apparently had a lot on their minds that they’d been holding back, but now that they started, they didn’t show any sign of stopping. 

“We should probably go break this up,” Mason said, who was relatively in a better position than most of the pack, due to his lack of supersensitive ears.

Theo groaned softly- getting in between this was the last thing he wanted to do, but any more screaming and his ears might actually explode, so he dragged his feet into the kitchen with the rest of the pack. The screaming had calmed down to aggressive jabs, but the atmosphere in the room was the same either way.

“You forgot we had a date,” Lori hissed, anger coloring her face. Alec scoffed.

“How many times are you gonna bring that up? I said I was sorry,” he replied, crossing his arms on his chest. Theo winced. That was _definitely_ the wrong thing to say. 

“ _Sorry?_ Alec, you never even said sorry!” Lori yelled disbelievingly, throwing her arms up in frustration. “You left me waiting at the diner for _two hours_ and you didn’t even apologize!”

Theo’s eyes widened, and he turned to the rest of the pack, who looked just as stunned. They hadn’t known anything about this- apparently Lori had kept it to herself- and the chimera felt a little anger build up in his chest. Alec might’ve been his adoptive brother, but that was _cold_. And no one, especially Lori, deserved that. Theo suddenly remembered that Brett was in the room, and he glanced at his best friend who, true to his prediction, was _fuming_. 

“Guys, let’s just calm down a lit-”

Nolan’s placating words were cut off by Lori’s low growl. “No, I’m done being _calm_. I’m done letting everything go. I’m done,” she seethed, narrowing her eyes at Alec, who had frozen after hearing her growl, “with _us_.”

And then she stormed out, slamming the front door. The room was still, the weight of Lori’s words hanging in the air. Mason, Corey, and Nolan’s eyes were wide as they stared at the now-closed door that Lori had just left from. Liam’s jaw was slightly open, and he was blinking blankly as if he couldn’t believe what just happened. And Brett, _fuck_. The werewolf was _always_ in control, a perk of being born supernatural, but Theo could tell he was about to _lose it_. He was breathing heavily, his hands in fists, blood dripping down from his claws. The chimera turned back to the younger werewolf. 

“Alec-”

The werewolf shook his head furiously, before stomping out of the house, cutting Theo off. The pack was left standing in silence, all at various levels of processing the fight. 

“ _Theo_ ,” Brett growled, his voice strained, and the chimera quickly turned to him. “Drive. _Now_.”

The older boy understood instantly. His best friend didn’t lose control often, but when he did, it was _brutal_. For _everyone_ involved. Theo grabbed Brett’s arm, pushing him towards the front door. He exchanged a weighted glance with Liam and Corey, tilting his head slightly to where Alec was standing a few minutes ago, silently telling them to go find the young werewolf. Corey nodded quickly, and that was all Theo needed to push Brett out of the house and towards his truck. 

Theo started the truck, pulling out of the McCall’s driveway as fast as he could. He glanced at Brett out of the corner of his eye- the werewolf’s head was turned towards the window, and he could see the reflection of golden eyes on it. _Fuck_ , this was bad. 

How had everything gone wrong so fast? _It_ _hadn’t_ , Theo reminded himself. From what he picked up from the fight, it’s been brewing for a while now. But Alec and Lori had hidden it from the rest of the pack, and to them, it was so _sudden_. Brett must’ve been thinking something along the same lines, because he suddenly slammed a hand on the dashboard.

“How the _fuck_ did I not notice?” he spit out, finally turning his head away from the window. “I _always_ know when something’s wrong with her, _how did I not know?_ ”

“Brett, it’s _not_ your fault,” Theo said bluntly. “Lori hid it on purpose.”

“ _Why?_ ” Hurt rolled off the werewolf, crowding the small space. 

“Because…” Theo trailed off, cause what was he supposed to say? He _didn’t_ know why Lori hid it, and he didn’t know what to say to make his friend feel better. He sighed as he tapped his fingers on the wheel. “I don’t know, Brett. I don’t know why.”

__________________________________

It took them almost forty minutes to find Lori. The girl was clearly trying to be left alone, but unfortunately for her, that wasn’t really an option with this pack. 

Brett opened the door and ran out before Theo had even fully parked the truck, storming over to his sister. 

“Why didn’t you tell me?” were his first words, and Lori didn’t even look up from where she was sitting on the ground of the preserve, fidgeting with some rocks in her hand. “ _Lori_ ,” Brett pressed impatiently when the girl stayed silent. Theo finally reached them, and he leaned against a tree casually as he listened.

“I don’t need to tell you everything.”

Brett let out an angry breath, and Theo knew he was about to explode. But that was _not_ what Lori needed right now. So he shook his head in a frantic ‘no’ at his friend before sitting down next to Lori.

He didn’t say anything, and a few moments later, Brett joined them, noisily dropping down on her other side. The three of them just sat there, listening to the sounds of the preserve fill their ears. 

“I didn’t want to break up the pack,” Lori whispered, after what felt like hours of silence. Theo felt a pang in his chest at hearing her reason. 

“Lori, just because someone does something wrong doesn’t mean the pack will break up,” the chimera said slowly, trying to choose the right words. “ _But,_ no matter how close the pack is, it doesn’t mean we’ll just let it go when Alec did something like that.”

Silent tears fell down her face as everything caught up with her. She leaned into her brother, and Brett wrapped an arm around her shoulder, pulling her in as she cried into his shirt. She had been keeping everything bottled up for _weeks_ , not telling a soul about what she was feeling, and the chimera suddenly desperately wished they had another girl in the pack. Because no matter how much they cared about her, they couldn’t be _that_. Brett was her brother, and Theo was Alec’s adoptive brother. Liam and Nolan were too close to Brett and Theo, and Mason and Corey would immediately tell one of them if Lori ever said anything to them. Their pack was close, and it had its perks, but Lori needed someone she could talk to that wouldn’t go running to them right after she told them. 

“He didn’t even say _sorry_ ,” Lori gasped out hysterically, letting out a short laugh, but there was no joy behind it. She pulled away from Brett, wiping her cheeks.

“When did it happen?” Brett asked, and it seemed like his fury had died down after Lori started crying, focusing his energy on comforting his sister instead.

“Two Fridays ago.”

A vague memory pushed at the corner of Theo’s brain. “Lori, what did Alec tell you he was doing?”

Lori blinked, not expecting the question. “He said he was making up a test, but I knew he was lying. I could smell the preserve on his clothes.”

The memory clicked into place. “He _was_ in the preserve,” Theo said solemnly, taking in the girl’s furrowed brows. “But not for the reason you’re thinking.”

Both Talbots were confused now, as they stared at Theo with questioning looks on their faces. The chimera sighed, before running a hand through his hair, a nervous gesture he had picked up from Liam. “He was attacked.”

“ _What?_ ” Lori’s eyes were wide as she turned fully towards the chimera. Brett’s mouth was open in shock.

“There was a rogue omega, and he knew that Alec was part of the pack, so he attacked. Alec thought fast and lured him into the preserve so no one would see, but he’s still a relatively new werewolf. He couldn’t take him by himself, so he called me for help. By the time I got there, the omega-” Theo broke off, his mind recreating the image he wished he could forget. “The omega had him pinned, claws around his throat. If I got there even a _second_ later…”

Theo trailed off, not wanting to say what would have happened. He squeezed his eyes shut for a moment, before opening them and turning to the siblings. “He made me promise not to tell the pack. He didn’t want you guys to know that he was ‘too weak to even fight off an omega.’ I told him that no one would _ever_ think that, but he wouldn’t budge. Wouldn’t even get in my truck until I promised.”

Lori let out a shaky breath, tears building up again in her eyes, but for a completely different reason than before. “Well, shit,” she said, her voice trembling. “I’m a horrible person.”

Brett and Theo both shifted, immediately disagreeing. “It’s not your fault. You couldn’t have known,” the chimera said gently. “It was just miscommunication on both your parts.”

“But I should’ve realized!” she blurted out, frustration seeping from her voice. “I should’ve known something was _wrong_.”

“Lori,” Brett began, his voice softer than Theo had ever heard it. “It’s _not your fault_. You can’t blame yourself for this. All you knew is that your boyfriend stood you up for two hours, and lied about where he was after. Anyone would’ve come to the same conclusion you did in your position.”

“He’s right,” Theo agreed, seeing the hesitation on Lori’s face. “If Liam pulled that shit on me, I would’ve thought the same thing.”

Lori glanced at him. “What would you do now if it was you?”

Theo snorted, leaning back on his arms. “Probably find Liam and punch him in the nose.”

Her mouth quirked up, and the chimera noticed the glint in her eye. “Don’t do that,” he added hastily. “If Alec found out that I told you to punch him, I think I’d be stuck on dish duty for a month, cause he’d go complain to Melissa immediately.”

The tension broke, and Brett and Lori both laughed. Theo felt something warm in his chest at the sound. It’s crazy how much the sound of _pack_ affected him, when a while ago, he was their enemy. The laughter eventually died down, and silence reigned again in the preserve. 

“So what do I do?” Lori asked as she stared into the woods, her gaze slightly unfocused. 

Brett sighed as he leaned back against a tree and crossed his arms. “Go find that idiot and make him tell you the truth.”

“And if he doesn’t?”

“He will,” Theo said firmly, standing up. “We’ll be there with you. He needs to learn that the pack won’t make fun of him for not knowing how to fight when he hasn’t even been a werewolf that long. And whether he learns it because he says what happened or because I _force_ him to say what happened, he’ll learn it.”

All three of them brushed the dirt off their clothes before making their way to the truck, things going back to normal pretty quickly when Lori jumped onto Brett’s back, almost causing him to face plant. Theo chuckled as he opened the door, jumping in. The ride back to the McCall house was a lot more lively as they fell into their normal conversation and jokes. 

Theo could sense the whole pack’s heartbeats in the house as he entered, confirming that the others had managed to find Alec and bring him back. Voices drifted from the kitchen and the three of them followed the sound. 

Alec was sitting on the counter, his feet dangling in the air as the rest of the pack were seated on the various furniture in the room. The werewolf jumped down as they entered, his eyes immediately falling to Lori. The two stood facing each other, silently staring. The room was still, no one else daring to make a sound and breaking the tension of whatever the two youngest members of the pack were doing. 

“You’re an asshole,” Lori finally stated, at the same time Alec said, “I’m sorry.”

A soft smile crossed her face, before it suddenly dropped and she narrowed her eyes at the werewolf. “You’re an asshole,” she repeated, taking a step closer. “You really think I’d mock you for being _attacked?_ ” 

Alec’s mouth dropped open, and he turned his head to give Theo an accusing look. When the chimera showed no signs of guilt for revealing what had happened, the werewolf turned back to Lori. “I was embarrassed. And kind of delirious from losing blood. I wasn’t exactly thinking straight.”

Lori let out a soft growl. “Stop making up excuses. Theo told me you made him promise not to tell anyone.”

Alec didn’t even give Theo another accusing glare, just sighed and dropped his head. “Fine. I was scared the pack was gonna think I was weak,” he mumbled, his words barely reaching Theo’s ears. “And even though Theo told me they wouldn’t, I just didn’t want to find out in case they did.”

Liam’s voice broke the silence that had fallen after the younger werewolf spoke. “Alec, we would _never_ think that. We were all in your place once, and we know how it feels.” The werewolf turned to Theo, his eyes brightening with amusement, and the chimera immediately knew what he was going to say next. “A couple years ago, I fell in a hole in the preserve. It wasn’t even hidden _that_ well, but I still fell.”

Theo snickered as the rest of the pack cracked up, remembering that day. Hearing Liam say ‘I fell in a hole’ so innocently to Scott had made him smile more than he wanted to admit back then. 

Liam’s wide grin faded a bit as he spoke again. “I know what it’s like being a young werewolf. But I got through it,” the werewolf turned to Alec fully as he emphasized his next words, “because I had a _pack_.”

Alec looked away from Liam, his gaze shifting to the other people in the room, who all nodded in agreement. His eyes finally made their way back to Lori, who looked a little sad at the fact that the werewolf had thought he couldn’t believe in his pack. 

“I’m sorry,” Alec breathed out, taking a step closer to Lori, leaving just inches between them. “I’m sorry for standing you up and lying when I did show up. And for not believing something that I should’ve believed. I’m sorry I hurt you.”

Lori smirked, amusement taking over her face. “That’s a lot of sorries, Alec. Trying to make up for something?”

Alec let out a disbelieving noise at her teasing, and Lori laughed, moving closer. “Just don’t do it again, dumbass,” she said before grabbing his collar and pulling him down into a kiss. Alec sank into the touch, and Nolan and Mason cheered as Brett cleared his throat obnoxiously. 

They pulled apart, grinning at each other softly before turning to the rest of the pack. “I thought you were gonna punch me when you came in here,” Alec said nonchalantly to Lori, and she snorted. 

“I almost did. Theo told me that if he was me and Liam did what you did, the first thing he would do was punch him in the nose.”

“Traitor!” Theo hissed at her as the pack exploded into laughter. 

“Just for that, you can sleep on the couch tonight,” Liam said with narrowed eyes, but there was no real heat behind them. 

“It’s _my_ bed!” Theo scoffed, and the younger boy wrapped his arms around the chimera, moving closer.

“Don’t care.”

And Theo couldn’t really argue back when his mouth was suddenly otherwise occupied. 


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This one's pretty long, but it's my favorite one that I've written so far, I hope you guys like it!

“He’s gonna hate it.”

Theo turned to Brett, who looked as distraught as someone who was just told that their dog died. “No, he won’t. He loves you, and he’d be happy with whatever you give him.”

The werewolf gave him an unbelieving look. “So if you gave Liam toilet paper for his birthday, you’re telling me he’d be happy with it?”

“ _Brett_ , you’re not giving him toilet paper,” the older boy groaned, flopping back onto his bed. “You got him a nice gift that’s kinda perfect for him. _But_ , even if he doesn’t love it, which _won’t_ happen, he won’t care because _you_ gave it to him.”

“You didn’t answer my question,” the blond replied, completely ignoring what he had just said. 

Theo sighed. “No, he wouldn’t be happy. He’d probably just be confused.”

Brett let out a victorious _aha_. “So you’re wrong.”

“Yes, Brett, I’m wrong,” Theo said, rolling his eyes. “Now can you go give Nolan the present already? I have a feeling Liam and Lori are listening in and telling him every single word we just said.”

Giggles drift upstairs from the living room, and Brett groaned in embarrassment. The two boys headed downstairs, the werewolf holding a giant box behind him. The rest of the pack all looked at them amused as they entered the room, Nolan turning towards his boyfriend with a smirk.

“Shut up,” Brett muttered before he could say anything and thrust the present into the human’s hands. It was heavy, and Nolan’s arms dropped a little, not expecting the sudden weight. 

His eyes were shining with joy, but he didn’t talk as he opened the box. Nolan’s jaw dropped. “No way,” he said, his head snapping up. “There is no _fucking_ way you knew about this.”

Brett’s cheeks turned red as the rest of the pack curiously looked into the box to see what he got. Gasps echoed in the room when they realized what it was. Theo leaned back against the couch in his spot next to Liam- he already knew what it was anyway.

“You mentioned it once,” the tall werewolf mumbled quietly, his gaze dropping to the floor. “Figured you’d like it.”

The _it_ that Brett had given his boyfriend was a brand new game console. And not just any console. The _newest_ one, like the one that came out _last week_. 

“Wha- Whe- How did you even _find_ this? It’s sold out, like, _everywhere_ ,” Nolan blurted out, his eyes wide as he stared at the console. 

“He stayed up looking at every website he could think of to make sure he got one,” Theo answered for his best friend, his mouth tilting up into a smirk. “Apparently you mentioned it _once_ a few months ago, and he’s been hellbent on getting it for you since then.”

Brett’s face was completely red now, and Nolan stared at his boyfriend for a few moments before lunging forward and hugging him. They both fell back with the momentum, Brett’s head hitting the floor with a _thud_. But he wasn’t complaining- his lips too preoccupied against Nolan’s. 

“Thank you, thank you, thank you,” Nolan whispered as he pulled back slightly. “I love it, and I love _you_. I can’t believe you thought I wouldn’t like this.”

The tips of Brett’s ears turned pink. “We need to have a conversation about not listening in on private conversations,” he said, glaring at Liam and Lori. They didn’t seem too bothered, wide grins on their faces. 

Theo snickered, wrapping an arm around Liam’s shoulder. “That’s a right you gave up when you joined this pack, dude. They have _no_ boundaries.” 

Liam smacked the chimera’s chest. “You do it too, asshole. Remember that time when I was taking a sh-”

“ _Okay_ , moving on,” Theo interrupted, cutting his boyfriend off before _that_ could be revealed. “When’s the rest of the pack getting here?”

Mason gave him an amused look, because he knew _exactly_ what Liam was about to say, but accepted the subject change. “Scott said they’d be here by seven. Apparently Stiles missed his original flight in the morning so he has to wait for the next one.”

“The fact that I’m not even surprised…” Theo snorted, shaking his head in disbelief.

Liam slipped a hand into his. “You shouldn’t be,” he grinned, then turned to Theo, his eyes glistening. “And you’re wrong by the way- I’d be fucking _delighted_ if you gave me toilet paper for my birthday.”

Theo burst into laughter, because _of course_ Liam would be excited for _toilet paper_. 

__________________________________

“You assholes,” Stiles said, smacking both Mason and Corey on the head. “You couldn’t have done that when we were _all_ here?”

Corey grinned sheepishly, looking at Theo, remembering what the chimera had said about Stiles finding out. “It was a five month pact, we couldn’t exactly wait for you guys to show up.”

Stiles humphed, crossing his arms over his chest. “Well screw you anyway.”

Scott nudged his best friend, giving him a pointed look. Stiles rolled his eyes. “And congratulations, I guess,” he muttered, and the pack cracked up. 

“Don’t worry, Stiles,” Brett snickered, “I’ll make sure the next proposal doesn’t happen unless you’re here.”

The human lit up. “ _Thank you_. _See_ , Brett’s a better friend than all of you losers,” he emphasized, narrowing his eyes at the rest of the pack. Then he suddenly froze.

“Wait, who’s the next proposal?” he blurted out, turning to Brett quickly. “Do you know something? Who’s proposing? _Brett_ , tell me!” Stiles whined, not even giving the werewolf a chance to answer his questions. 

The tall werewolf mimed zipping up his lips with a smirk on his face, and Theo rolled his eyes. No one in the Puppy Pack was proposing, and he knew that his best friend was doing this _solely_ to provoke Stiles. “No one’s proposing, Stiles,” the chimera replied. “Mason and Corey’s thing wasn’t even a proposal.”

“I don’t know about _that_ ,” Isaac cut in, his voice teasing. Everyone’s heads snapped to him.

“What do you mean, _‘I don’t know about that’?_ ” Liam asked, his eyes narrowing at the other beta. Theo knew that Isaac wasn’t talking about the second half of what he had said, so that meant that _someone_ was planning on proposing.

“You know something,” the chimera concluded, shifting his gaze around the pack. “Someone’s proposing, and you know about it.”

The pack stayed silent, everyone’s eyes scoping out who in the pack it could be. The humans’ heartbeats were all normal, so that ruled them out. Isaac and Cora and Parrish and Elina were both new couples, eliminating them. It wasn’t anyone in the Puppy Pack, so that left Melissa and Chris (who were in the other room and not even part of this conversation, but they weren’t married yet, so it made sense), Derek and Stiles, and Scott and Malia.

Derek’s heartbeat was steady, almost _too_ steady, and Theo took in the way his jaw seemed _just a little_ clenched. But then he noticed how Scott’s eyes kept looking down at his pocket every few seconds. And how his fingers were lightly tapping on his thigh, something that Theo had observed he did only when he was nervous. It could be either one of them, or both, but the chimera didn’t want to ruin whatever plan they came up with.

“Alec, I _knew_ you were hiding something,” Theo drawled, and the pack’s attention flew to the young werewolf. His eyes widened, shifting to Lori, before looking back at the chimera.

“What? _No_!” Alec exclaimed, “If anyone’s proposing in the Puppy Pack, it’s _you_.”

Liam snorted obnoxiously. “Yeah, and I’m the president of the United States.” Theo snickered, because _yeah_ , he wasn’t proposing, and neither was Liam. At least not for now. 

“ _Okay_ , everyone go have fun,” Scott called out, pushing Isaac and Stiles. “This is supposed to be a party, not an interrogation. Theo, come with me to get more snacks?”

The pack slowly dispersed, everyone still a little suspicious at what Isaac had revealed. Theo nodded at Scott, grabbing his keys. The two made their way to the truck, the noise of the pack fading behind them. 

“So you’re proposing.”

Scott sighed as he reached for his seatbelt. “Fucking Isaac,” he muttered, closing his eyes and leaning back against the headrest. “I don’t know how you managed to control your heartbeat and chemosignals for so long, I thought I was gonna faint from exhaustion back there.”

A small smile crossed the chimera’s face. “That’s what you get for telling _Isaac_ before me.”

“I was planning on telling you and Alec today, actually. And I never _told_ Isaac, he was snooping around in my dorm and found the ring.”

“Why was Isaac snooping around in your dorm?” Theo asked, raising an eyebrow as he drove. 

“Because him and Cora were visiting and have no personal boundaries, and decided that since I was in class, my dorm was the perfect place to have sex,” Scott answered, running a hand down his face. “He was looking for a _condom_.”

Theo snickered, pulling into the parking lot of the grocery store. “And you left the ring in a place where he thought condoms would be?”

Scott groaned as they got out of the truck. “ _No_ , that’s the worst part. I hid the ring with my underwear, because Malia wouldn’t look there. He was looking through my _underwear_ for condoms.”

The chimera couldn’t hold back his laughter anymore, stopping in place as he bent over, grabbing his stomach. Scott rolled his eyes and grabbed his arm, yanking him towards the store. 

By the time they got back home, Scott had revealed his plan to the chimera- and Theo admitted that it was a pretty good one. Malia was _obsessed_ with Theo’s baking, more than _anyone_ in the pack, and the alpha begged him to make a cake. Theo had commented on the fact that Malia would be in the house while he was baking, but Scott had waved him off, saying Lydia, Cora, and her were going out the next day. 

Theo opened the front door, and made his way to the kitchen to drop off the snacks they had picked up. The pack was all back in the living room, and he entered the room just to freeze immediately. 

Liam had a dopey smile on his face as he sat on the couch, talking with Mason. His hair was disheveled, and there were _numerous_ bottles of beer on the ground next to him. The chimera noticed wolfsbane out of the corner of his eye.

“You’re drunk,” Theo declared, and the pack’s attention shot to him. Mason nodded, but the rest of the pack stayed silent. 

“No I’m no-” Liam started to say, and the fact that Theo hadn’t even said a _name_ said something, but the werewolf froze when his eyes landed on the chimera. 

“Whoa,” the younger boy stated, his eyes wide as he stared.

Theo’s brows furrowed as he was about to ask what happened, but Liam cut him off. “You’re pretty.”

_Don’t blush, don’t blush, don’T BLUSH_ echoed in the chimera’s head, but really, he was powerless to stop it. His cheeks burned, and snickers burst from the pack. 

Liam abruptly stood up, almost face planting, but Mason steadied him. The human tried to coax him to sit back down, but the werewolf’s focus was solely on Theo. “Do you have a boyfriend? If you do, I could beat him up for you,” he announced, his blue eyes shining. “And then you could date me instead. Yeah, that sounds like a good plan to me.”

The pack was dying now, multiple phones pulled out as they documented Liam hitting on his own boyfriend. Theo, on the other hand, was struggling between trying not to laugh and trying not to blush even _more_. 

Liam stepped closer, his balance completely _gone_ , and Mason followed his friend with an amused look on his face, making sure he didn’t fall. “You have pretty eyes,” the werewolf blurted out, finally reaching Theo and almost poking his eye out as he pointed at them. “You should date me. I have eyes too, we can match.”

And Theo couldn’t hold it back anymore. He cracked up, closing his eyes for a second, before straightening up again and looking at his boyfriend, who seemed miffed at being laughed at. “I was wrong, you’re not drunk, you’re fucking _wasted_.”

Liam pouted, crossing his arms over his chest as he looked around the room at the entertained pack. “No, I’m not,” he grumbled, his eyes making their way back to the chimera. “ _You’re_ wasted, because you still haven’t agreed to date me yet.”

“I am _never_ letting him live this down,” Brett said gleefully, and Stiles nodded furiously in agreement.

Theo smirked before turning back to the werewolf in front of him. “Liam, we’re already dating.” 

His boyfriend’s eyes widened as his jaw dropped. “Whoa,” he said in awe, and the pack exploded again, and Theo _knew_ that this story was going to be repeated at _every single_ meeting from now on. “But you’re so _hot_.”

And after those words, Liam ran his eyes up and down Theo’s body. Holy shit, he was legitimately _checking him out._ The chimera felt a flush on the back of his neck, and he started to think about _anything_ other than his boyfriend’s _hooded_ eyes on his body. This needed to stop, _right now_. 

“ _Okay_ ,” Theo blurted, “Let’s get you to bed.” He grabbed Liam’s arm and hauled him upstairs, ignoring the wolf-whistles and catcalls from the pack. 

“Get some, Raeken!” Isaac yelled, and Theo had the sudden urge to throw him out a window. 

“Where are we going?” Liam asked, his mental processing _severely_ affected by the alcohol. “Are we going up to have sex? Which we can totally do. Since you’re my boyfriend.”

Theo groaned, knowing that the pack was still listening to them when he heard their laughter. He was gonna have a _very_ long talk with Liam tomorrow about drinking. “No, we’re going up so you can _sleep_.”

“Got it,” Liam said, a smirk on his face. “ _Sleep_.” He tried to wink at the chimera, keyword being _tried_ , because it looked like he was having a seizure. 

“ _No_ ,” Theo said, shoving the door to his room open and pushing Liam to sit on the bed. He dropped to his knees, reaching down to pull his boyfriend’s shoes off. 

“Since you’re already kneeling…” Liam began, his voice lilting, and Theo glanced up to see him looking down at the chimera with a glint in his eye. His position suddenly clicked in his head, and he blushed furiously. He stood up quickly, driving Liam back onto the bed by his shoulders, and yanked the covers up over him. 

“ _Sleep_ ,” Theo scolded when Liam tried to push the blanket off. “You’re gonna _hate_ yourself tomorrow morning if you don’t.”

“You can make me feel better,” the werewolf said suggestively, and Theo had a _lot_ of trouble not giving in when he heard the low, sultry tone of Liam’s voice. 

“ _No_ ,” the chimera repeated, turning off the lights. “If you don’t sleep _right now_ , I won’t kiss you for the next week.”

Liam’s eyes widened in the dark room, moonlight reflecting on them. “I’m asleep,” he rushed out, closing his eyes quickly. Theo held back a laugh as he closed the door and made his way downstairs. 

Then he suddenly remembered that the pack probably heard everything that went down upstairs. He froze on the stairs, wondering if he should quietly just go back up, when he heard Brett’s voice. “Don’t even _think_ about it, Theo. We know you’re there.”

_Fuck_. 

He dragged his feet into the living room, where he met the amused faces of the _entire_ pack. Apparently the adults had heard the commotion, because Melissa, Argent, Peter, Noah, Parrish, and Elina were _all_ there, their eyes shining. Theo sighed, accepting his horrible fate, and sank into the couch next to Corey. 

“Liam’s a horny drunk then?” Malia snickered, and the chimera buried his face into his hands. 

“You all heard what happened, can we stop talking about it now?” Theo muttered, trying to fight off the rising blush. 

“So you were kneeling?” Nolan asked and Theo’s blush was too strong to control now. The pack guffawed, because they knew _exactly_ what had happened. 

“Shut the fuck up,” Theo grumbled, finally lifting his head out of his hands. Corey put a sympathetic hand on his shoulder, and the chimera was grateful that at least _one_ of his friends wasn’t a total asshole. 

“Did you make him feel better?” Corey asked innocently, but it was completely fake, and the volume of the pack’s laughter increased.

Theo took back what he said about him not being an asshole. 

__________________________________

Liam groaned as he opened his eyes, and Theo glanced at him as he pulled a shirt on. The werewolf was holding his head as he sat up slowly, his gaze landing on the chimera. “What the fuck happened last night?”

Theo did _not_ want to get into that right now, so he ignored the question as he opened the door. “I’ll make breakfast. You good with waffles?”

Liam didn’t respond, evidently too hungover to even process the words. Theo slipped out of the room, making his way down the stairs. Scott, Melissa, and Argent were already awake, sitting quietly in the kitchen and they said their good mornings as he entered. The chimera began pulling out the ingredients to make waffles, and Scott perked up. 

“You’re making waffles?” he said excitedly, and Theo suddenly understood where Liam got his puppy-like characteristics from. He nodded with a smile on his face, and the alpha’s face lit up. 

“Malia, Lydia, and Cora are gonna leave soon,” Scott informed him, his face suddenly shifting. And there go his fingers, tapping on his thigh. 

“Scott, she’s gonna say yes,” Theo reassured him, exchanging a look with Melissa. The alpha’s mom was hiding a grin in her coffee, but she nodded when Scott turned to look at her. 

“He’s right honey,” she said, “Malia loves you, just like you love her. Everything will be fine.”

The alpha looked hesitant, but he finally seemed to accept that his girlfriend wouldn’t say no to his proposal, and moved to stand next to Theo. “Can you make this?”

An elaborate looking cake was what was on Scott’s phone, and Theo examined it before nodding. “It might not be perfect, but I can try. You putting the ring _in_ the cake?”

Scott snorted. “Absolutely not. Malia will take one look at the cake and _inhale_ it. I don’t want her accidentally swallowing the ring.”

Theo snickered as Melissa and Argent let out laughs.

“I’m not even kidding, dude,” the alpha added. “I don’t even know how she survives without your cooking, the way she talks about it. You might have to live right next to us when we grow up.”

“Well, Liam would like that,” Theo noted, his mouth quirking up. 

Scott blinked, turning to the chimera with a small smile on his face. 

“What?”

“You just implied that you’re gonna marry Liam,” the alpha stated, and Theo flushed. “If I’m not the first person you tell when you get a ring, I’m kicking you out.”

“Yeah, like _you_ did,” Theo retorted, pouring the batter into the waffle iron. “The only reason I found out _you_ were gonna propose is because I can tell when you’re nervous.”

“I was gonna tell you today!” Scott said, raising his voice. Theo was about to argue when the rest of the pack, minus Liam, shuffled into the kitchen. They had all slept over last night, too drunk and tired to leave. 

“Scott, you’re too loud,” Stiles groaned as he collapsed into a chair at the counter, resting his head on his folded arms. 

“I _told_ you that you were gonna regret drinking that much last night,” Derek said, shaking his head, chastising his boyfriend. 

“Shut up,” Stiles mumbled, “We can’t all be perfect citizens like you.”

Theo snorted at that- Derek was _not_ a perfect citizen- and the werewolf turned to glare at him. The chimera raised his hands in surrender, before placing a stack of waffles on the counter. The pack immediately _attacked_ , and Theo rushed back to not get eaten alive by the hungover zombies that were currently devouring the waffles he had made. He went back to waffle iron- there was no way those waffles would last another minute the way the pack was eating. 

Ten minutes later, everyone had finished eating but were lounging lazily around the kitchen, too tired to get up. And then Liam _finally_ entered, dragging his feet heavily. 

“What the fuck happened last night?” he asked, repeating the question Theo had avoided upstairs. 

Brett smirked. “Did you check the pack group chat?”

Liam shook his head, making his way over to Theo and wrapping his arms around his waist before resting his head on the chimera’s chest and closing his eyes. “My head hurts.”

Theo snorted, lifting a hand to run through the werewolf’s hair. “I wonder why.”

Stiles snickered, his amusement apparently trumping his exhaustion. “You were one drink away from stripping Theo in the living room.”

The chimera’s cheeks _burned_ as the pack laughed. Liam’s head snapped up from his chest, turning to stare at Stiles. “ _What?_ ”

The human exchanged a glance with Isaac, and the werewolf nodded quickly before they launched into a word-by-word recap of what happened last night, to Theo’s extreme embarrassment and the pack’s amusement.

“Do you have a boyfriend? I could beat him up for you, and then you can date me instead,” Stiles pouted at Theo, imitating Liam. 

Isaac continued, “You should date me because you have eyes and I have eyes. We can match.” Theo suddenly wondered if Kira’s sword could be fixed. 

Liam’s mouth was open as he listened to the two continue to mock him. 

“Wait, wait, Isaac, you be Theo,” Stiles cut off their original recap, apparently switching to _acting it out_ instead. The tall werewolf nodded, standing up across from the human.

“Liam, we’re already dating,” Isaac said, acting exasperated. 

Stiles widened his eyes to the point where it looked like they’d pop out of his skull. “Whoa. You’re hot,” he uttered, then made a blatant show of checking Isaac out. 

“ _Guys_ ,” Theo groaned, but the pack was having way too much fun with this, and Stiles and Isaac showed no sign of stopping. 

“Are we going up to have sex? Because we can do that now, since you’re my boyfriend,” Stiles declared, pretending to swoon, and Isaac struggled not to laugh so he wouldn't break character. 

“ _No_ ,” Isaac fake-growled, “You’re going to sleep.”

Stiles painted a _sinful_ smirk on his face as he said “ _Sleep_ ,” waggling his eyebrows. Then he sat down on the chair, limbs everywhere to represent Liam’s total loss of balance last night. Isaac stepped closer, and Theo wanted someone to shoot him _right now_ , because he knew they would exaggerate what had actually happened. 

Isaac sank to his knees in front of Stiles, his head _dangerously_ close to a _certain_ area, and Theo expected Cora and Derek to be mad, but nope, the two siblings were smirking, having the _time of their lives_ , watching their boyfriends.

“Since you’re already kneeling…” Stiles said in a low voice, and Liam gaped at the imitation while the pack guffawed. 

“I _said_ that?” the werewolf blurted, but no one answered him. The show must go on after all. 

Isaac stood up and moved away from the human, “You need to sleep, you’re gonna hate yourself tomorrow.”

Stiles shifted suddenly, pushing himself up onto the dining table and lying back on it in what Theo assumed was supposed to be a seductive pose. “You can make me feel better,” he whispered, wiggling his brows again, and Liam flushed bright red as everyone else cracked up. 

“Okay, show’s _over_ ,” Theo grunted, but he should’ve known better. 

“If you don’t sleep, I’m not kissing you for a week,” Isaac declared bluntly, crossing his arms over his chest. 

Stiles gasped dramatically, almost falling off the table. “I’m already asleep, you’re dreaming,” he shrieked, before closing his eyes and tossing his head back, his body stilling. 

He stayed there for a few moments before jumping off, grabbing Isaac’s hand and they both dipped into a low bow. “And scene.”

Applause rang out in the kitchen, Brett and Malia even throwing fake roses that Melissa kept on the counter at the two boys. Stiles flailed to catch them, sobbing “Thank you, thank you,” dramatically. 

“ _That’s_ what happened last night,” Mason supplied helpfully, turning to Liam. The werewolf groaned, and buried his head in Theo’s neck. 

“Who the fuck let me drink that much?” he mumbled, his lips moving against the chimera’s skin, and Theo was about to have a whole _other_ problem if that didn’t stop. He pulled away from his boyfriend, pushing him onto a chair while setting some waffles in front of him. 

“Eat,” he said firmly, and Liam was too hungry to argue about being treated like a child. 

“Okay, okay, everyone out,” Scott declared, a wide grin still on his face, “I think Theo and Liam have been embarrassed enough.” The alpha pushed the pack out of the room, and came over to sit next to Liam. “You okay?” he asked the two boys, and Theo rolled his eyes dismissively as Liam’s ears turned pink. 

When Scott seemed satisfied, even though they hadn’t even _said_ anything, he turned to look at Theo. “You starting on the cake?”

Liam glanced between them confused as Theo raised an eyebrow. “Isn’t she still here?”

“No, they just left,” the alpha responded, and the chimera focused a second and heard a car pull out of the driveway. 

“Then, yes, I’m starting on the cake.”

Liam's mouth was tilted down as he stared, the puzzle pieces slowly shifting into place in his head. He gasped suddenly, twisting his body towards Scott. “ _You’re_ proposing!”

“Gee, Liam, could you say that a little louder?” the alpha asked sarcastically. “I don’t think Malia heard you from the car.”

Stiles rushed in. “You _asshole_ ,” he said, smacking Scott’s head, evidently having heard Liam’s very loud realization. “I’m your _best friend_.”

“I was gonna tell everyone today, _god_ ,” Scott sighed, looking helplessly at Theo, who shrugged. He brought this on himself when he left Stiles out of the loop. He was on his own now.

“And Theo knew? And _Isaac_? Before _me_?” Stiles demanded, narrowing his eyes at his best friend as the rest of the pack made their way back into the kitchen. 

“Isaac _found out_ , I didn’t tell him. And Theo figured it out yesterday because of Isaac’s dumbassery,” Scott said, trying to calm Stiles down. “And plus, Theo’s part of it, he’s making the cake for the proposal.”

Isaac let out a hurt sound, placing a hand over his heart in a show of dramatic betrayal at Scott’s words. The alpha scowled at the beta, and Isaac grinned. 

“Um…” Lori interjected, drawing everyone’s attention. “If you put the ring in the cake, there’s a very high possibility that Malia will _eat_ it.”

Theo let out a short burst of laughter along with Scott. “Yeah, _we know_. I’m not doing that,” the alpha reassured the pack. They all stood talking, as Theo ran around the kitchen gathering the materials and ingredients. Soon, people started wandering up to the chimera, asking questions about the cake, or just poking at the ingredients. And Theo was _losing his mind_. 

“That’s it!” he yelled as Stiles told him he was measuring the flour wrong for the _fourth_ time. “Everyone _out!_ ” The pack jumped at the sudden noise, and took one look at Theo’s face and hurried out of the room. Well, everyone except for Liam. 

“Did I really say all of that last night?” the werewolf asked Theo, his voice quiet. 

Theo stopped his measuring, making his way to Liam, who was staring down at the empty plate in front of him. “Liam, you know they were all just joking around, right?”

“I _propositioned_ you,” his boyfriend shrieked, his head snapping up. “And then you _rejected_ me.”

The chimera sighed. “I didn’t _reject_ you. You were drunk, Liam, _wasted_. I wasn’t gonna take advantage. But that doesn’t mean I don’t _want_ you. I _always_ want you.”

Liam seemed to settle at his words, a small smirk on his face as he looked at the chimera. “Do you want me right now?” he asked, leaning in so that their lips were almost touching, but stayed _just_ out of reach. _Fucking tease_. 

Theo’s breath hitched as his pulse picked up. “ _Fuck,_ yes.”

The werewolf closed the gap, pressing their lips together. The kiss turned heated _fast_ , and Liam pushed Theo against the counter, the stone jabbing into the chimera’s hip, but he didn’t care. All he could focus on was _Liam_.

The younger boy slid his hand up the chimera’s shirt, and Theo hissed at the cold touch. Liam had almost managed to pull the shirt completely over his head, when the kitchen door slammed open. They jumped apart, lips bruised and hair disheveled as they adjusted their clothes. 

“I see the cake preparation is going well,” Brett teased, smirking as he watched the two boys flush heavily. “You got a chef kink, Liam?”

Theo’s face was on _fire_ , but Liam just glanced at him nonchalantly. “Maybe,” he said casually before walking out of the room, leaving a very turned-on Theo and an extremely amused Brett.

But his best friend seemed to take pity on him after everything that had happened today, and just walked over to the counter where the cake batter sat. “You need help?”

It took a few moments for Theo to compose himself, pushing the last few minutes into a box in his mind, saving _that_ information for later. “Uh, yeah, I could use some help.”

And with that, the two boys started on the cake for Scott’s proposal.

__________________________________

Scott was going _ballistic_.

“ _No,_ Stiles, the flowers can’t be there, that’s where the _cake’s_ gonna be!” he snapped at this best friend, who quickly picked up the flowers he had just set down. The alpha was _scary_ when he was losing his mind. 

“Scott,” Melissa said gently, placing a hand on her son’s shoulder. “ _Relax._ Everything will be set up exactly the way you want it, okay? Just,” she pushed him onto the couch. “sit down for a minute. Catch your breath.”

Theo watched as the alpha took a few deep breaths. The rest of the pack continued to run around, getting everything ready for when Malia showed up. Which should be any minute now, according to Isaac. Cora had texted him that they were on their way back. 

“Okay,” Scott sighed, standing up again. “I’m good. Just fucking _nervous_.”

Reassuring words echoed from the pack, saying Scott’s proposal was gonna be perfect, and there was no way Malia was gonna say no.

The sound of a car pulling up drifted from the outside, and everyone shut up. They all moved to the edge of the room, leaving Scott in the middle. Argent and Melissa both had their phones out, recording the momentous occasion. Theo heard Malia’s voice, talking to Lydia about some annoying kid at the mall. The door opened, and Malia fell silent as her eyes took in the sight. 

She stumbled in, and Theo guessed that Cora had pushed her from the doorway. Lydia entered last, closing the door behind her softly as Malia continued staring at Scott. The alpha had paled, and the chimera could hear his racing heart. 

“Umm, Malia-” Scott started, taking a step forward. He immediately cut himself off, shaking his head violently. He took a deep breath, pulling out a ring and kneeling on one knee in front of the werecoyote. 

“Malia Tate,” he began again, his voice more confident than before, “Will you marry me?”

The room stood still, no one daring to even _breathe_ as their eyes shifted to Malia, who was still frozen. Scott started to look a little green at the lack of response, and that seemed to snap her out of her daze. “Yes,” she blurted out. “ _Fuck yes_.”

The pack exploded in loud cheers as Scott placed the ring on Malia’s finger, standing up to kiss her. They both grinned into the kiss, and Theo couldn’t have been happier for the both of them. 

“Oh, and also,” Scott said as he pulled away from his _fiancée_ , “Theo baked you a cake.”

Malia _squealed_. Theo’s mouth dropped at the sound, because he didn’t know the werecoyote was even _capable_ of producing a noise like that. “You are the _best_ ,” she declared, turning to the chimera with _tears_ in her eyes. Theo flushed, muttering that it wasn’t a big deal. 

The werecoyote ignored it and hugged him quickly before rushing to the cake. 

“Told you she can’t live without your cooking,” Scott quipped as Malia cut into the dessert, and Theo grinned. 

“I guess that means I’ll just have to live next to you when we grow up,” he said, referencing their conversation this morning. 

The pack burst out laughing, everyone high on the exhilarating energy in the room. And as Liam frantically nodded in agreement with Theo’s words, the chimera snickered, knowing that he was gonna marry the boy next to him. 

Someday. 


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> quick warning for everyone: this one's a little 😳

Theo was not evil. Not anymore. He had moved in with the McCalls, basically _adopted_ the entire Puppy Pack, and was genuinely a part of the pack. He didn’t have the urge to kill, didn’t crave power, didn’t want to go back to being the chimera of death he was a year ago. 

But that didn’t mean he didn’t enjoy riling people up.

Especially Liam. 

The Puppy Pack was out at Sinema for the night, taking a well-deserved break from school and all the supernatural shit they’d been dealing with. Scott didn’t want Alec and Lori going, even though almost every single person in their pack had gone to the club when they were their age, maybe even younger. The two youngest werewolves had put up a fight, but eventually conceded when the alpha promised to let them have the house to themselves, at least for a little while. 

Back to Theo enjoying riling Liam up. 

The chimera knew he was attractive- it was a trait he had taken full advantage of when he was evil, pulling people in with his witty charm and good looks. And at the moment, he could feel at least three different pairs of eyes on him, following his movement as he leaned against the bar counter and pushed his sleeves up, exposing his forearms, and gulped down his drink. 

One of them, very obviously, was Liam, who was sitting at the back with the rest of the Puppy Pack. Even from across the room, Theo could tell that his eyes were dark, and the chimera felt a rush of excitement go through his body. 

Oh, yeah. He was gonna enjoy the _fuck_ out of riling Liam up. The werewolf was a naturally protective person, it was just a part of his nature and one of the many attributes Theo loved about him. But despite that, Liam usually controlled his jealousy pretty well. And Theo selfishly didn’t want him to tonight. And if it got the werewolf to be a little rough with him, well, the older boy sure as hell wouldn’t be complaining. 

Out of the corner of his eye, he sensed a dark-haired guy making his way up to him, and Theo let a small smirk settle on his face. _Game on_.

“You want another drink?” the guy asked in a low voice, an attempt at being seductive, and the chimera turned his head slightly, giving him a quick glance. 

“No, I’m good,” Theo said, placing his arms behind him on the counter, leaning back casually. The dark-haired guy copied the chimera’s position, and it caused their elbows to brush. Theo shivered, not because of the touch, but because a low growl made its way to his ears. It took everything in him not to move a muscle on his face so his plan wouldn’t be exposed. The guy seemed to think it was because of him, though, and leaned in a little closer. 

“Wanna dance?”

Theo was about to open his mouth to say no when Brett suddenly appeared out of thin air, made up some random excuse, and pulled the chimera away by the arm. When they finally got outside, out of earshot from the supernaturals inside, the werewolf finally let go of him, turning to him with his lips quirked up. “I don’t know what you’re doing, but I’m just letting you know right now that it’s not gonna end well.”

Theo’s eyes shined with mischief. “What do you mean, ‘not gonna end well’?”

His best friend took in his amused expression and it finally clicked. “You _want_ him to get jealous. You’re provoking him on purpose,” the blond said slowly, watching as Theo’s grin widened. “You _like_ it rough.”

The tips of the chimera’s ears turned pink, but he didn’t say anything, because what could he say? He couldn’t deny what the werewolf had figured out. 

“Oh, this is gonna be _fun,_ ” Brett snickered as the two boys started walking back inside. “Mason and Corey are trying to calm him down, but you’re just gonna get him going again, aren’t you?”

Theo’s mouth pulled up in a smug smirk, not responding. He didn’t need to. He was in hearing distance of the pack again, so he told Brett that he’d go get more drinks for everyone and that the werewolf could go back to the table if he wanted. His friend gave him one last wicked look before making his way back to the pack, Liam instantly bombarding him with questions before he even sat down.

The chimera hid a smile and sauntered over to the bar, where the previous bartender had been replaced with a new, younger one. One that was _very_ into Theo, judging by his slightly tinted cheeks and sultry eyes. 

Theo ordered enough drinks for everyone in the pack, ignoring the heated glare on his back. He thanked the bartender with a smile, and turned to head back to his friends. He slid in next to Corey, who was sitting next to Mason. Brett and Nolan were sitting across from them, placing Liam directly across from the chimera. The werewolf’s breath was the _opposite_ of steady, and for a second, Theo felt a little guilty for making his boyfriend lose control. 

But then Liam’s nails scratched the chimera’s arm when he grabbed his drink from Theo, and something heated in his chest. But the werewolf said nothing, continuing to ignore him as he talked with Nolan about some test they had taken last week. Brett caught Theo’s eye, and his friend gave him a devilish smirk before opening his mouth. 

“Hey Theo, who was that guy at the bar?”

Liam stilled, cutting off his conversation with Nolan. The mood suddenly tensed, and Theo saw Mason and Corey exchange worried glances out of the corner of his eye. 

“Yeah, _Theo_ ,” his boyfriend spit out, “Who was he?”

The chimera shrugged, trying to keep it as casual as possible. “Don’t know. He asked if I wanted a drink.”

Liam’s shoulders were so tense, the older boy was worried they might _snap_. The werewolf’s hands were in fists, and his eyes were narrowed at Theo. “What’s his name?”

Theo let out a short laugh. “I don’t know, Liam. We didn’t really talk for that long.”

“You were talking long enough for him to flirt with you.”

It took all of Theo’s willpower not to smile. The rest of the pack was watching them like a tennis match, their eyes flicking back and forth. 

“He wasn’t flirting with me.”

“Are you _stupid?_ He was _clearly_ flirting with you!”

“Liam, you’re overreacting.”

And the werewolf exploded. “I’m _overreacting?_ ” he hissed incredulously. “Did you get hit in the head or something? Are you _drunk_ ? Or are you just this fucking _dense?_ ”

“Liam, maybe we should take this outs-”

Mason was cut off by the werewolf standing up abruptly. “Let’s go. We’re going home. _Now_.”

Liam’s tone left no room for argument, the whole pack could do nothing but follow the furious beta to Theo’s truck. The werewolf slammed the door loudly when he got in, and Theo winced in the driver’s seat at the sound.

The ride to the McCall’s house was dead silent, no one daring to say a word in case it would set Liam off again, and Theo’s fingers anxiously tapped on the wheel. His boyfriend was obviously pissed off, which _was_ his goal, but did the chimera push him a little too far?

When they finally pulled up to the house, the pack made their way inside to find Scott, Alec, and Lori sitting on the couch, watching some movie. 

“Everyone out,” Liam growled when the entire pack was in the living room. “ _Now_.”

The three on the couch looked confused, but one look from Mason seemed to tell them that something had happened, and they jumped up quickly. 

“Liam, where do you want us to-”

“I don’t _fucking_ care where you go,” the werewolf snapped, cutting the alpha off. “Just _leave_.” The pack moved to the door hastily, Liam’s anger radiating off of him in violent waves. “Not you, _Theo_.”

The chimera froze, his back to the beta, and Brett turned to look at him. His friend gave him a sinful smile, and mouthed “Have fun” before closing the front door. 

And they were alone. 

Liam didn’t say anything, just glowered at the chimera with a scowl. Theo sighed, maybe he’d taken this too far, and he should just come clean now before it leads to actual damage. “Okay, look, Liam-”

His back hit the wall. It took him a moment to realize that the younger boy had shoved him. He blinked at his boyfriend, opening his mouth to try again, but Liam didn’t let him.

He lunged forward, driving Theo back hard into the wall with his hands on the chimera’s waist. The older boy gasped when he felt the claws digging into his skin. Heat flared in his body, and his breath hitched. 

“You stood there and _watched_ as that guy flirted with you,” Liam snarled, his claws pushing just a little more into Theo. “Are you _stupid?_ ” he asked, repeating his question from Sinema.

“N-no,” Theo stammered, his heart pounding like crazy, his brain short-circuiting from all the sensations that he was getting. Liam nudged the chimera’s head up with his, leaving his neck completely vulnerable.

“Then _why_ ,” the beta fumed, pressing his face into Theo’s neck, and the chimera choked when he felt fangs graze his throat, “are you _acting_ like you are?”

The words processed in Theo’s brain, and he froze. “You know.”

Liam growled. “Of course I know. I knew you were planning something the whole way there, and Brett was too nonchalant after he got back from talking to you.” His fangs were still on Theo’s throat, holding him in place. “You wanted me to get jealous.”

Theo tried to explain, but he cut himself off when Liam let his fangs sink in _just a little_ and he moaned. Liam froze. He pulled back quickly, taking in the chimera’s disheveled state, his dark eyes, his heavy breathing, and the subtle smell of arousal in the air. Understanding dawned on the beta, and his eyes flashed with amusement. “You _want_ me to be rough.”

The older boy could do nothing but stare, making a quiet noise in his throat. “Are you mad?”

Liam snorted, all his previous rage draining out as he took a step back. “All you had to do was ask, you know. You didn’t have to create an intricate plan to make me jealous.”

Mischief crossed Theo’s face. “It worked, didn’t it?”

The werewolf let out another growl, quickly moving back to his previous position, his claws slightly sinking into Theo’s hips and his mouth on his neck. “No more talking.”

Theo let out a sigh when Liam’s mouth began moving against his throat. “I don’t know, Liam. I think you-” he faltered at the beta’s ministrations. “Think you like it when I talk.”

Liam’s hand suddenly moved off his waist, slithering up on his back to grab his hair, and the werewolf pulled _hard_ , yanking Theo’s head back. And the chimera was _gone_ , so far fucking _gone_. He lost the ability to think, letting his boyfriend take control. Liam hissed into Theo’s ear. “I think I’d like it a lot better if you do something _else_ with your mouth.”

And Theo thinks he might have died at that moment.

__________________________________

“You’re a dumbass,” Scott said to Theo when the chimera came down the next morning with a dopey smile on his face. 

“And why am I a dumbass?” the younger boy questioned, his voice light. 

“There are a _hundred_ ways to achieve what you wanted to last night, and you went with getting _hit on_ by _another guy?_ ”

Clearly Brett had informed the rest of the pack about Theo’s plan.

“It worked.”

Scott’s ears turned pink. “Okay, too much information, Theo.” The chimera let out a loud laugh at the queasy look on the alpha’s face. 

Theo’s phone buzzed, and his brows furrowed at seeing Stiles’ contact picture- the human sleeping, with his mouth wide open, drool on the side of his mouth.

“Stiles?”

“You’re a dumbass.”

“I’m gonna fucking murder Brett,” Theo growled, because who else would’ve told Stiles, who was _across the country_ , about what happened last night?

“No, really,” Stiles continued, and the chimera could picture him waving his arms around frantically, “You thought it was a good idea to make a _werewolf_ jealous at a _club?_ A _public place?_ ”

“Stiles,” Theo sighed, “I already got this from Scott, so can we not do this?”

The human cursed him out for another two minutes before finally hanging up, and Theo finally let out a breath. “I’m gonna murder Brett.”

“I don’t think you should be saying that about your best friend that helped you get what you wanted last night,” a voice called out, and Theo rolled his eyes as the entire Puppy Pack shuffled into the kitchen. 

“You’re officially demoted from being my best friend, asshole,” the chimera drawled, giving Brett a dry look. “Was telling Stiles _really_ necessary?

The werewolf smirked before nodding, as Liam entered the room, immediately going over to Theo to wrap his arms around his waist. “You left me alone,” he said, pouting, and Theo’s heart fluttered. 

“I’m sorry,” he apologized, running a hand through the beta’s hair. 

“How the fuck is _Liam_ the top?”

The kitchen was silent for a few moments after Mason’s blunt question, before the Puppy Pack burst out in laughter, Theo’s chest shaking as he pulled Liam closer. 

And Scott looked like he was one second from jumping out his bedroom window. 


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this was so fun to write, i hope you guys like it!

Theo had a theory.

And being the science-inclined person he was, he needed to test this theory. Now, the scientific method said that the first steps were to make an observation and then create a hypothesis.

But Theo was past that. In fact, he was fully ready to just carry out his experiment, because this theory _needed_ to be proven. 

And what was this theory you ask?

Liam’s chef kink.

Theo couldn’t get it out of his mind ever since that day of Scott’s proposal- Liam’s dark eyes as he walked out of the kitchen, his voice soft as he said _Maybe_ , the way his tone was casual, but the look on his face was anything but.

And the chimera wanted to know. This was his boyfriend, and if his boyfriend had a certain… _inclination_ , Theo should know about it, right? 

So, Theo designed an experiment. Because when you don’t know what to do, you go back to what you know. And what the chimera knows is science.

He started off slow. Just making sandwiches for the pack when they came over, making sure Liam was in the vicinity. Or chopping up some vegetables for dinner on the days the beta stayed over. He kept it simple, kept it basic. 

But it wasn’t enough.

Sure, Liam fawned over him, but it was just what he usually did. There was nothing _new_. Nothing that proved Theo’s theory.

So he stepped it up.

The Puppy Pack would be in the kitchen, all doing their homework, and Theo would ask if they wanted anything to eat. He’d subtly make sure his boyfriend was watching before rolling up his sleeves, and then start to prepare whatever it was the pack asked for. 

Or when the whole pack was back home and Lydia would ask him to show her how to make something he had made at the last pack party, he’d let a small smirk graze his face as he put on a show- Stiles even started calling it the Theo’s Not Completely Horrible cooking show. The chimera had rolled his eyes at the name- he knew he was a good cook and he was proud of it- but true to his nature, knowing that Theo didn’t like it made Stiles want to say it even _more_.

And _finally_ , Theo started to see some proof. 

Liam’s eyes would follow him as he pushed his sleeves up, and stayed on him as he moved around the kitchen, pretending he was oblivious to the beta’s stare. On the days he put on a show for the whole pack, even with _everyone_ watching him, he could pick out his boyfriend’s eyes on his body, giving him a heated look that made Theo desperately wish they were alone. 

But it still wasn’t _enough_. Not enough to draw a proper conclusion with supporting evidence. So Theo turned it up one final time. 

The house was empty- a rare occasion with the pack, but the older pack was off at college. Corey and Mason were out on a date because apparently, they didn’t get enough alone time- even though the chimera was certain that didn’t stop them from doing things. Alec and Lori were with Isaac and Cora- all four of them had gotten wildly attached to Stranger Things, and were currently binge-watching the second season. And Brett and Nolan were at the werewolf’s apartment, and Theo had a _pretty_ good idea about what they were doing to pass the time. 

So, the house was empty save for him and Liam, who was currently lying on the couch as he studied for his chemistry test. And so Theo set his plan in motion.

“It’s so hot in the house,” he complained, pushing his sleeves up to expose his forearms, and he caught Liam’s eyes flicker over to him. The werewolf didn’t say anything though, just hummed in agreement before turning back to his studying.

But that was all Theo needed to do- just set the stage for what he would do later. Time passed by, Theo lazily scrolling on his phone, looking up every now and then to answer a chemistry question Liam had. About an hour later, he decided enough time had gone by, and he suddenly stood up.

“You hungry?” he asked Liam casually, walking over to the kitchen. “I was thinking of pasta for lunch.”

“Oh, yeah that sounds good,” the beta responded, still distracted by the stoichiometry problems in front of him. Theo hid a smile as he entered the kitchen, pulling out the pasta from the pantry before setting a pot of water on the stove to boil. 

And then he took his shirt off. 

For the plan to work, for him to be able to prove his theory once and for all, Liam needed to enter the room while he was cooking. But Theo wasn’t too worried about that part- he was sure his boyfriend would come to ask him how to solve a chemistry problem sooner or later. He got started on chopping vegetables, and true to his prediction, five minutes later, Liam’s voice rang out from the living room.

“Theo, what’s Avagadro’s number?” the beta asked, and the chimera’s mouth tilted up.

“What?” he yelled back, pretending he didn’t hear. He had turned on the stove exhaust fan, and while he heard what Liam had said perfectly fine, Liam didn’t have to know that.

Theo heard the werewolf let out a frustrated noise, before hearing footsteps make their way to the kitchen. He quickly dropped his smile, acting like he was focused solely on what he was doing with the vegetables. 

“I _said_ , what’s Avagad-”

Liam’s voice broke off as he entered the room, and Theo looked up, painting a confused expression on his face, to see the beta frozen, his eyes wide as he stared.

“Avagadro’s number?” Theo finished, his attention going back to the vegetables in front of him. He continued chopping as he answered. “6.022 times 10 to the 23rd.” 

“Th-thanks,” Liam stammered out, and the chimera looked up again, pretending like he was concerned. 

“You okay?” he asked, his mouth tilting down in a small frown. _Fuck_ , he wanted to smile so bad, but _no_ , that would ruin the plan. “Are you worried about your test? I’m sure you’ll be fine.”

“Um… yeah,” the beta’s voice cracked on the word, and it took everything in Theo not to laugh, “What are you doing?”

The chimera furrowed his brows as his gaze turned to his boyfriend. “Making lunch?” he said, his voice going up at the end like he was puzzled why Liam was asking something so obvious. Theo knew _exactly_ what Liam was asking, but he was on a mission. 

“No,” Liam blurted out, walking closer to the counter. “No, I mean… why are you shirtless?”

Theo let out a short laugh, turning around to put the pasta in the boiling water. “It got hot, and it’s not like anyone’s here anyway.”

“Oh okay… I’m gonna study here,” the beta said slowly, and Theo grinned secretly as he twirled the pasta, “It’ll be easier to ask you questions.”

His footsteps faded for a moment before reappearing, and the chimera took the short period to smile widely, to get it out of his system before his boyfriend came back. Liam dumped his things on the kitchen counter, dropping down onto the chair. 

Theo continued, focusing on cooking, but he knew that Liam was watching him. He turned around to get salt when he caught the werewolf’s eyes on him. Or rather, his chest. “You got another question?” he asked casually, pretending he hadn’t noticed where Liam was looking. 

“No.” Liam’s voice was barely above a whisper, and it seemed a little strained. 

The chimera went back to making lunch, trying his fucking best not to let his mouth quirk up, but _holy shit_ , Liam was making this so hard. Theo desperately hoped that the beta’s self-control would be exhausted soon. 

The universe seemed to have been listening, because two minutes later, Liam exploded.

“Can you put a shirt on?” the younger boy hissed, and Theo whipped around, his eyes wide in surprise. “You’re cooking, not _modeling_.”

“Jeez, Liam, why are you so worked up, it’s just a little hot in here,” the chimera drawled, and the werewolf huffed.

“You cooking already makes me horny, do you really need to add being shirtless to that?” Liam snapped, and immediately slapped a hand on his mouth. _Clearly_ , he hadn’t meant to say that.

And there it was. Theo’s theory was proven, and he was over the fucking _moon_. A devilish smirk lit up his face, and he raised an eyebrow at his boyfriend as he leaned back against the kitchen counter. “Me cooking makes you horny?”

Liam’s cheeks darkened, his ears turning pink. “Uh… it’s- I didn’t mean-” he broke off, sighing in resignation as he lowered his gaze. “Yeah.”

“So Brett was right about your chef kink then?” Theo asked softly, and the beta’s head snapped up to find an ear-to-ear grin splitting the chimera’s face. 

“You did this on _purpose_ ,” Liam realized, his eyes taking in the older boy’s unapologetic expression. “You _asshole_.”

Theo hummed. “Well this asshole’s gonna go back to cooking again. Have fun with your studying,” he announced before twisting around, his back to his boyfriend again. Liam let out an irritated sound, and before Theo could do anything, he was being flipped around and pushed back, his hips pressed firmly into the counter. 

  
“You don’t get to pretend nothing happened,” Liam growled, his claws digging into Theo’s waist, and _fuck_ , the pasta was gonna burn, but the thought flew out of his head when Liam pulled his head back with his hair. Because the beta knew _exactly_ how to get Theo worked up. “I should’ve known you were planning something when you started cooking so much more all of a sudden. Putting on those _shows_ , rolling your sleeves up when we were working, you were testing me, weren’t you?”

Theo stayed silent, and Liam snarled, tightening his grip on his hair and sinking his claws in a little more. “ _Weren’t you?_ ” he repeated, and Theo sputtered out a yes, heat flaring in his chest. 

“It’s been on my mind ever since you said ‘maybe’ that day,” the chimera whispered, and he watched as Liam’s eyes darkened. “Decided to prove it.”

“Well, I have my own theory,” the werewolf breathed out, his lips millimeters away from Theo’s, but not letting the chimera close the gap. “I think it’s my turn to _prove it_.”

And prove it, he did.

__________________________________

The Puppy Pack was all in the McCall kitchen, their standard hang-out, doing homework. Theo was helping Lori with her biology homework, but the young werewolf just kept getting more and more frustrated. 

“I’m done,” she blurted out, burying her head in her arms on the table. “Can you make something to eat? I’m starving, and I can’t focus on this anymore.”

The chimera nodded, getting up and making his way around the counter. And maybe it was just habit, from doing it so many times over the past couple of weeks, but he unconsciously pushed his sleeves up as he walked. 

A low growl stopped him in his place. He twisted to find Liam’s eyes on him, and they flashed gold exactly once, as if the beta was warning him. He hastily pulled his sleeves down- he did _not_ want to get into this right now, especially with the pack all there. 

But unfortunately for him, the pack was all obnoxiously observant. 

“What was that?” Mason asked, his brows furrowed as he looked in between Liam and Theo.

“Nothing,” the chimera replied, hoping they’d drop it.

He should’ve known better.

“No, that was definitely _something_ ,” Nolan said, his arms crossed over his chest as he gave the older boy a disbelieving look. Liam was no help, his cheeks had tinted with Mason’s question, and he had quickly dropped his head, pretending he was diligently working on homework. 

Theo chanced a quick glance at Brett, because if anyone could figure it out, it was him, and to the chimera’s chagrin, the tall werewolf had a smirk on his face, his eyes bright as they took in Liam’s embarrassment and Theo’s tense posture. 

“You finally figured it out then?” his best friend asked, amusement coloring his voice. “I was wondering how long it would take since that day.”

The rest of the pack was still confused, and they all started asking Brett what he was talking about, but the werewolf said nothing, apparently deciding that this was something he wouldn’t reveal until the two boys involved said something. 

The volume in the kitchen continued to grow, everyone talking over each other as they threw out crazy theories, trying to guess what happened. Theo sighed, closing his eyes, but apparently Liam was over it.

“I have a fucking chef kink, okay?” he yelled, his face burning. Mason’s jaw dropped, while the rest of the pack had various looks of shock on their face. Theo was trying not to smile, because _yes_ , this was kind of embarrassing for his boyfriend, but it was also pretty funny. Brett evidently didn’t have the same consideration for Liam’s feelings, because he started laughing, his head tilting back. 

“Out of all the ways I imagined this coming out, that was _not_ one of them,” the tall werewolf said in between laughs, and Liam’s face was a shade of red that Theo had never seen on his boyfriend. 

Corey threw a crumpled piece of paper at Brett. “No kink-shaming,” the chimera reprimanded, and Liam squeaked in embarrassment. 

“I’m not laughing at his kink,” Brett said, his mouth pulled in a grin, “I’m laughing at _him_. There’s a difference.”

“Fuck off,” Liam muttered, and got up. “I’m leaving.” The werewolf left the room, and Theo gave Brett an annoyed glare before following his boyfriend.

“Liam, _stop_ ,” he called out, the beta already halfway up the stairs. Liam sighed and stopped, letting the chimera catch up to him. “Brett’s just messing around.”

“I _know_. It’s just embarrassing.”

“You don’t need to be embarrassed. Everyone has a kink,” Theo reassured the werewolf, placing a hand on his shoulder and pulling him into his chest. 

“Yeah, well, they all know mine now,” Liam mumbled into Theo’s shirt. “This is your fault.”

“How is this _my_ fault?” Theo asked in disbelief.

“You’re the one that started cooking shirtless,” his boyfriend said, “None of this would’ve happened if you never did that.”

“So you’re saying you don’t want me to cook shirtless anymore?” the chimera asked, pulling back to raise an eyebrow at the beta. 

“No,” Liam hastily said, and the older boy snickered. “Oh, fuck you.”

“You wanna go back into the kitchen so you can watch me cook?” Theo questioned, laughing as the werewolf flushed. 

The blush only deepened as Brett started laughing from the other room when Liam grumbled out a yes.


	9. Chapter 9

“I fucked up!”

Theo jumped at the door suddenly opening, and the panicked yell that filled the house. Before he could say anything, Parrish ran into the kitchen, his hair disheveled and a hysterical look on his face. 

“What?”

“I fucked up,” Parrish repeated, and he looked like he was about to start crying right there. Theo raised an eyebrow, and the deputy slumped into a chair, running a hand through his already messed up hair. “I forgot our anniversary.”

Theo’s brow climbed further up his forehead, as he took in Parrish’s frenzied state. “And this concerns me how?”

“Help me fix it!” the hellhound hissed out, jerking his hands up. “Everyone knows you’re the romantic one, help me fix this, _please_.”

The chimera sighed, putting his phone away, accepting that his quiet afternoon would be cut short. “What did she say?”

Parrish winced. “She waited until we were about to sleep, and said, ‘today’s our one year anniversary by the way, thanks for remembering’ and then slept in the guest room.”

It was Theo’s turn to wince. “You fucked up,” the chimera confirmed, and Parrish let out a loud groan.

“What do I _do?_ I don’t want to lose her.”

“Does she like big gestures?” Theo asked, because hey, not everyone does. And if he helped Parrish do something big, and Elina _hated_ them, that would only make this worse.

“No… not really,” the hellhound answered, biting the inside of his cheek in thought. 

“Okay, that’s a start,” Theo said, standing up to lean on the counter. “Think of something intimate, something that shows how sorry you are, and shows how much you love her.”

Parrish mulled over his words for a minute. He suddenly looked at Theo, a hesitant look in his eyes. “Could you… I mean only if you have time, if you don’t, it’s fine, but it would be nice if–”

“Parrish.” Theo cut him off, rolling his eyes at the hellhound’s rambling. He’d had enough people ask this question that he’d expected it by now. “I’ll make a cake. What’s her favorite?”

The deputy let out a sigh of relief, before realizing that Theo had asked him a question. “Chocolate.”

Theo nodded, pulling out his phone to look up chocolate cake recipes. “You good to handle everything else? Just think of moments that you remember, the small things, you know? She’ll understand how much you love her.”

“You’re the best,” Parrish breathed out, standing up. “Seriously. You’re my favorite in the pack.”

A flush made its way up Theo’s neck, but before he could respond, another voice cut in. “Wow, Parrish, what about your twin supernatural omen of death?”

Lydia had a smirk on her face as she entered the room, her eyebrow raised in a way that just screamed _Lydia_. 

“My twin supernatural omen of death isn’t helping me fix my relationship, so I’m gonna stick with Theo,” Parrish retorted, a little bit of the tension in his shoulders dissipating. 

“Hmm, yes, you forgetting your anniversary,” Lydia said casually, making her way to peek at the recipes that Theo was scrolling through, immediately shaking her head at the one that the chimera was looking at, “Elina was _pissed_. Rightfully so.”

Parrish blanched. “Did she tell you something? What did she say? On a scale of one to ten, how screwed am I?”

“About a thousand,” the banshee responded nonchalantly, as if she hadn’t just knocked the air out of Parrish’s lungs. “Ooh, yes, that one’s perfect!” she squealed at the recipe on Theo’s phone, and the chimera scrolled down to the ingredients. 

Lydia looked up at Parrish, giving him a hard glare, her smile dropping. “You _better_ make this right. Or you’ll have an angry witch on your hands. And an angry banshee.”

“And an angry chimera,” Theo cut in cheerfully, and Parrish looked at him in betrayal. “I’m helping you, but you still messed up. So you better _fix it_.”

Yeah, Elina and Theo might’ve started off on the wrong foot. Theo didn’t know if you could attempt to kill his alpha slash brother and start on the _right_ one. But, since she had joined the pack, they got to know each other a bit more, and Theo genuinely enjoyed the witch’s company. She didn’t take shit from anyone– Theo once watched her cast a farting spell on Stiles after he tried to prank her with a whoopee cushion. Needless to say, _that_ got her on Theo’s good side fairly quickly. And now, she almost resembled an older sister, and Theo’s heart twinged every time he thought about it. 

“I’m gonna fix this,” Parrish said in a determined voice, “I _will_.”

“Good,” Lydia stated, and Parrish left, mumbling about picking something up from the grocery store. The banshee turned to Theo, watching him as he started on the cake. “Don’t you ever get tired of baking cakes for everyone when they ask you to?”

Theo snorted. “No. I’d rather do this than something like hold a boombox in the rain. Which I _also_ did, so I _can_ compare them.”

Lydia hummed with a smile on her face, and Theo’s eyes flicked up at her. “What happened?”

The banshee startled, like he had just electrocuted her. At the questioning look on his face, Lydia let out a small sigh. “I hate how you always know. You shouldn’t be allowed to have a sixth sense about feelings.”

Theo snickered, measuring out the sugar. “Too bad, I do. So, you gonna tell me or should I bring Scott and Stiles into this?”

Lydia’s lips pressed together at the mention of the alpha and his best friend, and Theo froze, putting the measuring spoon down. “Lydia?” he asked, scared something bad had happened.

“They’re fighting.”

Theo’s eyes widened, his mouth dropping open. Scott and Stiles _never_ fight. The closest they ever came to it recently was when Scott didn’t tell his best friend about the witch attack. “What happened?” he repeated.

Lydia massaged her temple, sitting in the chair in front of the counter. “Stiles got hurt. And he didn’t tell Scott, and then Derek mentioned it casually in a phone call, thinking that he already _did_ , and now Scott is _pissed_. Which, yes, is kind of hypocritical of him, but Stiles also doesn’t have _supernatural_ healing abilities like he does.”

Theo didn’t know Stiles had gotten hurt. Now _he_ was pissed. “When did he get hurt?” he asked, his mouth tight. 

Lydia’s eyes flickered over to him at hearing his strained voice. “Three days ago. He didn’t tell _anyone_. Not me, not Scott. The only person he _did_ tell was his dad, but apparently he had made him promise he wouldn’t tell anyone else. And now Scott won’t even talk to him. Hasn’t answered his texts or calls, and Stiles is _hysterical_. He booked a flight to come back this weekend.”

Just as Theo was about to let his anger take over, his phone buzzed. Stiles’ picture lit up the screen, and the chimera took a deep breath, trying to calm himself down. He’d at least let the human _try_ to explain himself before exploding on him. 

“Theo,” Stiles’ voice burst out from the phone, “I’m sorry, please don’t be mad. I can’t take anyone else being mad at me. I know I messed up, but _please_ don’t be mad.”

The chimera sighed, dragging a hand down his face. “Why the fuck didn’t you tell anyone? You’re not supernatural, you can’t _heal_.”

“I _know_ , I’m coming back this weekend, and I’ll make it up to you. And everyone else,” Stiles blurted out. “But _please_ help me with Scott. He’s never been this mad at me before, but he’ll listen to you. He always does.”

“I don’t know if he’s going to about this,” Theo said truthfully, because this was _big_. Scott and Stiles tried not to keep secrets anymore, after Scott’s proposal and Stiles’ Vegas marriage, and obviously everything that happened in the past, during the dark period of Theo’s life. “You remember how mad _you_ were when you found out he got attacked?”

Stiles let out a frustrated noise. “I _know_ , and I’m an actual piece of shit for keeping this from him, but I need to _talk_ to him. And he hasn’t responded to _anything_ for the last two days.”

“When’s your flight?” Theo abruptly asked. Clearly, the two best friends were going to have to meet face to face for anything to get fixed. 

“Friday afternoon. I should be there around eight,” Stiles answered, and Theo could hear the exhaustion in his voice. It pushed at something in his chest– this was Scott and Stiles, the unstoppable duo, best friends until death. They weren’t supposed to be like this. 

“We’ll figure it out, Stiles,” Theo said gently. “Scott’s your best friend. You’re not gonna lose him.”

Theo heard Stiles take a deep breath. “I really hope so,” the human whispered softly, before hanging up. 

“Well, fuck,” Theo said to Lydia, who had been not so secretly listening in on the phone call. 

“That’s one way to put it,” the banshee replied. She looked lost in thought for a few more moments before shaking her head, and painting a smile on her face. “Now c’mon, you gotta finish this cake. Parrish has a _lot_ of groveling to do.”

And so Theo pushed Stiles’ broken voice out of his head, and turned his attention to making the best chocolate cake he could. It was the least Elina deserved after what happened.

__________________________________

Whatever Parrish did worked, because him and Elina were _all_ over each other at the pack party on Friday. The witch had come up to him and thanked him, saying that there was no way Parrish could bake like that. He had snickered and said it was no big deal, happy that the two had fixed things. 

Theo kept checking his phone, the time slowly crawling towards eight o’clock. Liam noticed that his mind wasn’t completely in the room, and he gave him a questioning look. The chimera shook his head, but Liam knew him better than that.

“What’s wrong?” the beta asked, after dragging him outside. Theo exhaled deeply. 

“You notice Scott’s been off the last few days?”

Liam’s brows furrowed as he gave Theo a weird look. “Yeah, but what does that have to do with _you?_ ”

Theo hesitated for a moment. This wasn’t really his story to tell, was it? But before he could decide on what to say, a car pulled up to the house, and Theo could make out Stiles and Derek’s outlines in the dark as they got out. 

“Stiles?” Liam asked, confused. “You’re back already?”

The human’s eyes flickered over to Theo in shock, apparently not expecting that the chimera didn’t already tell Liam. “Uh… yeah. I did something, and I need to fix it.”

Liam looked worried now, a concerned look evident on his face as he took in the cast on Stiles’ left arm. “What happened? What did you do?”

Before Stiles could answer however, the front door happened, and Scott poked his head out. “Hey, Theo, Malia’s asking if there’s any more of those cookies you ma–”

He broke off, seeing Stiles. His face grew hard, his mouth settling into a straight line. “What are you doing here?”

“Scott, _please_ , can we talk? I know I messed up, but just– just let me _explain_ ,” the human pleaded, his eyes wide and his face so _open_. The alpha faltered at the look on his best friend’s face, because no matter how furious he was, he was still _Scott_ , and this was still _Stiles_. 

“Fine.” Scott’s voice was curt, and he stepped out onto the porch. He gave Theo a quick glance, and the chimera understood. This was not a conversation the whole pack needed to hear, and not one _they_ needed to hear either. He grabbed Liam’s hand and pulled him into the house, Derek following them closely and closing the door behind him. 

Theo let himself be pulled into the party, pushing Scott and Stiles to the back of his mind. They would work it out, they always did. And sure enough, when the two best friends entered the house an hour later, they both had wide grins on their faces.

Theo let out a quiet sigh of relief. He didn’t know what he would’ve done if they _hadn’t_ worked it out. Stiles screwed up, but apparently his explanation was good, because Scott didn’t look mad anymore. He threw an arm around his best friend’s shoulder, dragging him into the living room. “Just stay for the weekend, Stiles. I’m sure the FBI can wait two days.”

Stiles rolled his eyes, but Theo could see the happiness in his eyes, and the chimera suddenly remembered how exhausted he had sounded on the phone a couple of days ago. He had sounded _overworked_. So, Theo kept an eye on him the whole night, noticing how all the human’s energy seemed to drain when he thought no one was looking, the way he made all his usual jokes and sarcastic comments, but would constantly yawn through them. The way his eyes seemed to want to close at every moment, but he always shook his head slightly, like he was forcing himself to stay awake. 

And Theo was _concerned._ And so, when Stiles went into the kitchen to grab another drink, the chimera followed him.

“You’re not going back.”

Stiles jumped at the sudden words, his head almost hitting the fridge door. He tilted his head in confusion, and Theo gave him a hard stare. “You’re not going back to DC,” he repeated, watching the way Stiles’ eyes narrowed. “Have you _seen_ yourself, Stiles? You look like you’re about to _collapse_.”

“I’m fin–”

“ _No_ , you’re not,” Theo said, his voice rising a little in frustration. “You just got _hurt_. Badly. You need to _rest_ , not go back and overwork yourself more than you already have. You’re gonna work yourself to _death_.”

Stiles dropped into a chair clumsily, running a hand through his hair. “It’s only been like this the past couple of weeks. It’ll blow over soon.”

“No,” the chimera said bluntly. “You’re staying, even if that means I tie you to your bed so you can’t move.”

“Kinky,” Stiles replied, his nose wrinkling as a small smile settled on his face. “You sure Liam will be okay with that?”

“ _S_ _tiles_ ,” Theo snapped, and the human sighed. 

“Okay, _fine_ , I’ll stay. They said I can take up to a month off if I needed it, but I was planning on just going,” Stiles stated, and it really looked like he was gonna fall asleep right there. 

“Well, not anymore,” Theo said, pulling the human up, putting the arm that wasn’t in a cast over one of his own shoulders. “You need to sleep. Possibly for two days straight.”

The chimera walked Stiles out of the kitchen, ignoring the confused stares he got as he took the human up the stairs, dropping him onto the bed in the guest room, which Stiles and Derek usually monopolized when they were here. Stiles fell asleep almost as soon as his head hit the pillow, and Theo sighed, pulling the covers over him, before making his way back downstairs. 

“Thank you,” Derek said to him quietly as he entered the living room. “He hasn’t been sleeping for _days_ , says there’s always something he has to do. And the whole Scott thing just made it worse.”

Theo hummed, catching the way Scott flinched slightly on the other side of the room. “He was about to collapse when he went to get a drink. He’s not taking care of himself, is he?”

Derek shook his head, crossing his arms over his chest as he leaned back against the wall. “I think part of it is that he misses Beacon Hills. He misses the pack,” the older werewolf said slowly, looking around the room. “He loves it out there, but a part of him will _always_ be here, even though he tries to convince himself otherwise.”

“Is his internship almost over?” 

Derek nods, hesitating on his next words. “He wants to move back, it’s obvious. But I don’t know if he’ll let himself do it.”

Theo’s eyes flickered from person to person in the room, the way the whole pack was _there_ , was there _together_. And Stiles needed this. He wasn’t supernatural, didn’t have the ‘connection’ that the supernaturals did to the pack, but he still had _something_. He’d been a part of it from the start, watched it grow, and shrink, and grow again. Watched it fall apart and put together again. Watched as everyone got closer, while he was stuck on the other side of the country.

“He needs to,” Theo began, thinking of the way Stiles seemed a little brighter when he was around the pack than when he was in the kitchen, alone. A part of it was him trying to cover up his exhaustion, but part of it was the fact that the pack _helped_ him. “ _Everyone’s_ here. He needs to move back.”

Theo’s eye caught Scott’s. The alpha had been listening, it was pretty obvious. The chimera could see the guilt and sorrow painted on the older boy’s face. But his eyes grew determined, and Theo _knew_ that Scott would convince Stiles to move back. If anyone could do it, it was Scott. And Stiles wouldn’t need that much convincing anyway, based on how easily he had given in when Theo told him to stay (Okay, so maybe he _forced_ him, not told him, but still. Same thing). 

And this would work out. The connection a pack had was _strong_ , sometimes even stronger than _family_ , and Stiles being away from it was hurting him more than they had realized. But moving back would be good for him, good for the pack. 

And maybe Theo could convince Elina to cast another farting spell on him. Just for old time’s sake.


	10. Chapter 10

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> this chapter is literally all just Stiles and Theo's bromance
> 
> imagine the friendship we could've gotten from them on the show ugh

Theo spit blood out of his mouth.

“Is that all you got?” he taunted, smirking at the hunter in front of him. The hunter’s eyes flashed in anger, and he punched him again, breaking Theo’s nose for what was probably the seventh time. 

“What the fuck, Theo?” Stiles hissed from next to him, tied up but relatively less bloody, “Stop doing that!”

Theo felt his nose healing, and looked up at the hunter, only to notice that he wasn’t looking at him anymore. No, he was looking at Stiles with a glint in his eye, and Theo’s heart dropped.

“You’re human,” the hunter pointed out uselessly. “Maybe _he’ll_ ,” he gestured at Theo, “talk if _you_ get hurt.”

Stiles had a determined look on his face, because _of course he did_ , it’s _Stiles_ , but Theo was panicking. Stiles won’t heal like he did, can’t take as much pain as he can. The chimera protested loudly, trying to taunt the hunter into focusing on him again, but there was no use. 

Theo watched in horror as the hunter punched Stiles in the jaw, the human’s head jerking back with the momentum. A pained grunt left Stiles’ mouth, and the sound clawed at Theo’s chest. He roared, and the hunter turned to him with a devilish smile. 

“How much more do you think he can take?” the hunter asked, acting concerned. “Maybe we should move onto the electricity?”

Theo snarled, his teeth bared. “Monroe’s death really hit you that bad, huh?”

The hunter paused at the mention of his old leader, his eyes hardening. The chimera took the opportunity to continue, trying to keep the focus off of Stiles. The human was still not up to his usual strength– months of overworking left him completely drained, and even though he moved back to Beacon Hills after his internship ended last week, he was still a little weak. “I remember you. Quiet, followed orders, invested in the cause.”

Theo let out a little laugh. “But she still never noticed you, did she? Always stuck with Hossler and Wade. Always trusted _them_ more.” The hunter’s smile had completely faded, his jaw clenching at the names of Monroe’s previous right-hand men. Because Theo had paid attention, all those months ago. And he knew that the hunter in front of him _hated_ Hossler and Wade. 

“Shut the _fuck_ up,” the hunter fumed, grabbing the dial and turning it up, and the electricity coursing through him suddenly increased. Theo jerked against the fence, trying to keep the cry building in his throat inside. He didn’t need Stiles interfering because he thought Theo was severely hurt. 

“She never saw you, never confided in you,” Theo panted out. He _knew_ the hunter was close to breaking. “You were so loyal, weren’t you? But it didn’t matter, did it?”

“Shut,” the hunter drove his fist into Theo’s gut, “ _up_.” He stopped his attack for a few seconds, just to turn the dial up more, and Theo couldn’t stop the groan this time. He heard Stiles call out his name somewhere in the back of his mind, but it was too quiet. 

Suddenly, he heard a heartbeat. Wait. _Multiple_ heartbeats. 

_Fucking finally_. 

Theo let the hunter keep punching him, keep assaulting him. The pack was close, it would be over soon. But then the hunter threw a particularly hard punch at his chest, right where he had been cut with a wolfsbane-laced knife when he was captured, and Theo’s vision went _white_. A short scream ripped out of his mouth before he could stifle it, and the hunter was attentive, noticed what had happened. And he punched it again. And again. 

And maybe again. But Theo wasn’t awake to know if he did. 

__________________________________

“Theo!”

Everything felt… _heavy_. But he fought the urge to keep his eyes closed, and slowly opened them. Stiles’s face was inches away, a worried look on his face that shifted into relief when he noticed Theo was awake. 

“C’mon buddy, we need to go,” Stiles said, moving to untie the chimera. Theo started to shout a warning, because he was _not_ strong enough to keep himself upright, but it was a second too late, and Theo fell forward, pushing Stiles onto the ground under him. 

Stiles let out a groan. “Did you really have to fall on _me?_ ”

“Oh, I’m _sorry_ , Stiles,” Theo snapped, trying to lift his weight off of the human, but his arms were so _tired_. “Next time I’m poisoned with wolfsbane and then assaulted for an hour, I’ll make sure to stay away from you and fall on the concrete instead.”

The reminder of Theo’s current injuries seemed to jolt Stiles out of his complaining, and he rolled Theo to the side, before standing up. He threw one of Theo’s arms around his shoulders, and the chimera leaned on the human. One of Stiles’ hands grazed his chest, and Theo hissed at the burst of pain that exploded in his body. 

“Sorry, sorry,” Stiles muttered, heading towards the door. Theo could hear the heartbeats getting louder– the pack was almost here. And sure enough, the door slammed open a few seconds later, Scott and Liam running in, shifted. They took in the unconscious hunter next to them, and Theo suddenly realized that there was a hunter in the room to begin with. 

His head snapped to Stiles, and opened his mouth to ask, but Stiles cut him off with a roll of his eyes. “He left a knife close to me when he got mad at you for Monroe. He was too distracted to notice me cutting myself out, and you passed out right before I knocked him out.”

“Theo,” Liam exclaimed, hastily making his way to the two boys, putting Theo’s other arm around his shoulders. Scott took over for Stiles, and the four of them slowly limped out, and Theo took a deep breath when the fresh air finally hit his face. 

Stiles let out a sigh at seeing Derek, and the older werewolf quickly moved towards him, talking faster than Theo had _ever_ heard him. Guess everyone had their weakness, Theo thought with a small smile. 

A flare of pain in his chest wiped his smile off his face, and Theo gasped loudly. Liam immediately looked at him, and Theo’s breath hitched as his chest tightened again. “Wolfsbane,” he heaved, and Scott and Liam instantly shifted their position to take his pain. They carefully placed him in the backseat of the Jeep and followed him in, Derek and Stiles sliding into the front.

Derek tossed a lighter to Scott, and Liam lifted Theo’s shirt quickly as the alpha started to burn the wolfsbane out. Liam kept his hand around the chimera’s wrist, black lines making their way up his arms. When all the wolfsbane was gone, Theo slumped into the seat, breathing heavily. 

“I’m never going on a patrol with Stiles ever again.”

Stiles let out an indignant cry as the tension in the car broke. “I thought I saw a rabbit okay? And rabbits are really cute. This was _not_ my fault,” he huffed, turning in the passenger seat to scowl at Theo.

“A rabbit?” Scott asked, his brows furrowed as he glanced between Theo and Stiles. 

A short laugh bubbled in Theo’s chest. “A _rabbit_ ,” he confirmed, rolling his eyes. “Stiles is forbidden from patrols.”

“Hey, that’s not fai-”

He broke off, and it took Theo a second to realize that Derek was glaring at him from the driver’s seat.

“Okay, _fine_ ,” Stiles said, exasperated. He angled his head again to look at Theo, his eyes squinting in concern. “Are you okay? Those last few punches were pretty bad.”

Theo closed his eyes, and leaned on Liam, who adjusted so that Theo’s head was on his chest. “I’m fine. Better me than you. You won’t heal.”

Stiles let out a frustrated noise, and Theo’s eyes flew open at the lightly veiled anger behind it. “I’m so _fucking_ tired of all of you using that against me. Just because I don’t heal like you guys do doesn’t mean you all should _sacrifice_ yourselves for me.”

“We’re _protecting_ you, not sacrificing ourselves for you,” Theo mumbled. 

“I can protect myself!” Stiles yelled, and everyone winced at the deafening sound that bounced off the interior of the car. Even _without_ supernatural ears, that was _loud_. “You could’ve _died_ if he turned up the electricity just a little more.”

“Stiles,” Theo said bluntly, and the human turned to him. Theo made sure their eyes were connected, and he used as much emotion as he could as he said the next words. “I’m _okay_.”

Stiles sighed, and the rest of the ride home was silent. 

__________________________________

“You know you being okay doesn’t mean everything’s okay right?”’

Theo sighed, his eyes flickering to the human next to him, playing with a pen between his fingers. The two were in the kitchen, the morning after they got captured. Stiles hadn’t said anything to him after they got back home yesterday, muttering about being tired and went straight to bed. 

  
“Stiles, it hasn’t even been a week since you came back. Do you even remember how exhausted you were last time? If that hunter focused all his attention on you…” Theo trailed off, not wanting to say what he was thinking. 

“But I’m _better_ ,” Stiles snapped, finally turning to face Theo. “And you don’t have to throw yourself in front of every bullet for _everyone_ every goddamn time.”

“I _do_. Because I _care_ ,” Theo retorted, his eyes flashing. “And I’m not gonna just sit back and watch while someone hurts someone I care about.”

“ _Ugh_ ,” Stiles sputtered out. “Arguing with you is so _annoying_.”

Theo smirked. “Because what I’m saying makes sense.”

“ _No,_ ” Stiles scoffed.

The chimera stayed silent for a few moments. _3, 2, 1._

“Okay, _fine_. It makes sense,” Stiles blurted out, and the smile on Theo’s face widened. “But I still don’t like it.”

Theo hummed. “That doesn’t matter,” he said, standing up. “Wanna play MarioCart? I bet I can still beat you, ten years later.”

Stiles squawked, straightening up indignantly. “You’re on. Loser has to tell Melissa they broke the microwave.”

They both turned to the smoking appliance. 

“Deal.”

__________________________________

“You’re grounded.”

Stiles immediately protested, his hands flailing. “I don’t even _live_ here.”

Melissa glared at him, and Stiles’ mouth snapped close. “Tell that to the guest room you’ve permanently colonized. And I don’t care. You’re still grounded.”

Theo and Scott snickered, and Stiles turned to them with narrowed eyes. “Theo broke it too, it wasn’t _just_ me.”

Theo gasped dramatically, putting a hand over his heart, and Melissa smacked the back of Stiles’ head. “Now you’re just trying to get Theo in trouble. He wouldn’t do that.”

The human sputtered, because _yes_ , he would. He _did_. And Theo let a small smirk lift his mouth, as Melissa walked away, ignoring Stiles’ complaining. 

“Told you I could still beat you.”

“Fuck off,” Stiles grumbled, as he stomped up the stairs to the guest (his) room. 

Scott turned to Theo with an amused look on his face. “He was telling the truth, wasn’t he? You broke it too.” 

Theo’s eyes squinted in laughter as he nodded. Scott patted his back with a grin. “Watch your back for the next few days.”

Turns out, Theo _should’ve_ watched his back. Because now here he was, at _ten_ in the morning, completely immobile. Because Stiles thought it was a good idea to sneak into his room in the middle of the night and _tie Theo up_. To the _bed_. 

The door to his room slammed open, and Theo’s head snapped up to see Stiles with his phone pointed at him. “See, Liam, I wasn’t lying.”

Theo’s eyes widened, and he snarled. “Stiles, what the _fuck?_ ”

Stiles guffawed, and Theo could vaguely hear the Puppy Pack from the phone, could hear Brett’s obnoxious laughter, Corey’s quiet giggles, Liam’s low stammering. He could _imagine_ Liam’s face right now. 

“Stiles, what the _fuck_ ,” Theo repeated, and the human walked in, his phone still turned towards the chimera. “You lost, you tell Melissa. That was the _deal_.”

“Yes, but you _see_ ,” Stiles declared, his eyes bright, “Melissa wouldn’t have believed you did it even if _you_ told her. She would’ve said you were covering for me or Scott. So, _revenge_.”

“For _what?_ ” Theo sputtered, outraged. “I didn’t even do _anything_.”

Stiles hummed. “Hypothetically, you did. So,” he gestured at the ropes, “ _voila_.”

“I fucking hate you so much,” Theo mumbled, and Stiles snickered. 

“I don’t know, I think you should thank me,” the human’s smile widened, and Theo’s eyes narrowed. “Liam’s on his way.”

Theo froze, and a mischievous look flashed across Stiles’ face. “His face looked a little red to me.”

“Get out.”

“And don’t think I forgot about what Brett told me. About you making Liam jealous so that he’d be–”

“Get out,” Theo hissed, and Stiles raised his hands in surrender, backing out of the room.

“The house is empty, by the way,” Stiles said, winking, and Theo flushed. “Have fun.”

The door shut loudly, and Theo heard Stiles make his way downstairs before leaving the house. Theo took a deep breath. He could get out of the rope if he wanted to, he was _supernatural_ , rope wasn’t going to hold him for _that_ long. 

But his brain replayed Stiles saying that Liam was on his way over, replayed that time Theo had made Liam jealous, replayed that _night_.

Theo stayed still. Maybe Liam could help him out of the rope. 

Or maybe not.


End file.
